Ever thought about living to 122? Honestly, most of us feel like we’ve run a marathon just getting through a Tuesday. But there was one woman who didn't just reach 100—she treated it like a mid-life milestone. Her name was Jeanne Calment.
She is officially the answer to who was the oldest person on earth. Born in 1875, she died in 1997. That is 122 years and 164 days of existence. To put that in perspective, she met Vincent van Gogh when she was a teenager. She wasn't impressed, by the way. She called him "dirty, badly dressed, and disagreeable."
Imagine calling one of history’s greatest artists "disagreeable" to his face and then outliving the entire Impressionist movement by a century. That was Jeanne.
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The Woman Who Outlived Her Own Heirs
Jeanne Calment lived her entire life in Arles, France. She was born into a relatively wealthy family, which meant she never really had to work. Instead, she spent her days cycling, swimming, playing tennis, and visiting the opera. Sounds like a dream, right?
But her story isn't just about leisurely bike rides. It’s actually kinda tragic. She outlived her husband, her only daughter, and her only grandson. By the time she became a global celebrity in her 110s, she was effectively alone.
Then there’s the famous apartment deal. In 1965, when Jeanne was 90, a lawyer named André-François Raffray decided to buy her apartment on a "life estate" basis. Basically, he’d pay her 2,500 francs a month until she died, and then the place would be his. He probably figured she’d last another five years, maybe ten.
He was wrong.
Raffray died 30 years later at the age of 77. His family had to keep paying Jeanne until she finally passed away. By the end, they had paid more than double what the apartment was worth. Jeanne reportedly joked, "In life, one sometimes makes bad deals."
Wait, Was It Actually a Massive Fraud?
You can't talk about who was the oldest person on earth without mentioning the controversy. In 2018, a Russian mathematician named Nikolai Zak and a gerontologist named Valery Novoselov dropped a bombshell. They claimed Jeanne Calment didn't live to 122.
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Their theory? Jeanne died in 1934, and her daughter, Yvonne, took her identity to avoid paying inheritance taxes.
If true, the woman who died in 1997 was actually Yvonne, and she was only 99. The "Calment Conspiracy" went viral. People pointed at old photos, noted discrepancies in eye color, and argued that the math of a human reaching 122 just didn't add up.
But the scientific community fought back.
French researchers, including Jean-Marie Robine, who originally validated her age, produced a mountain of evidence. We’re talking census records, church documents, and testimonies from the small town of Arles where everyone knew everyone. It's pretty hard to swap identities with your mother in a town where the neighbors see you every day. For now, the record stands. Jeanne remains the undisputed GOAT of longevity.
The Secret Sauce (Or Just Good Genes?)
Everyone wants to know her secret. Was it kale? Green juice?
Nope.
Jeanne Calment smoked until she was 117. She only quit because she was becoming too blind to light her own cigarettes and didn't like asking for help. She also ate about two pounds of chocolate a week and poured olive oil on almost everything she ate.
She also loved Port wine.
"I've never had but one wrinkle," she once said, "and I'm sitting on it."
Beyond the diet, researchers think her "unflappability" was the real key. She famously said, "If you can't do anything about it, don't worry about it." In a world obsessed with biohacking and $500 supplements, maybe the real secret to living a long time is just... relaxing?
Who Is the Oldest Person Living Right Now?
As of early 2026, the leaderboard has shifted. While Jeanne holds the all-time record, the title of the oldest living person currently belongs to Ethel Caterham from the United Kingdom. Born in August 1909, she’s currently 116.
Close behind are others like Marie-Rose Tessier in France and Naomi Whitehead in the United States.
It’s a rare club. To be a "supercentenarian"—someone who reaches 110—is statistically like winning the lottery while being struck by lightning. Most of us hit a biological wall around 80 or 90. These individuals seem to have "slow-aging" genes that protect them against the big killers like cancer and heart disease until the very, very end.
The Verified All-Time Leaders
- Jeanne Calment (France): 122 years, 164 days
- Kane Tanaka (Japan): 119 years, 107 days
- Sarah Knauss (USA): 119 years, 97 days
- Lucile Randon (France): 118 years, 340 days
You’ll notice a pattern here. They’re all women. The oldest man ever verified was Jiroemon Kimura of Japan, who lived to be 116. Men just don't seem to have the same biological staying power, though science is still trying to figure out exactly why.
Is There a Limit to Human Life?
Scientists are currently duking it out over whether we can ever beat Jeanne’s record. Some researchers believe 122 is a hard "ceiling" for the human body. They argue that even if we cure every disease, our cells eventually just give up.
Others, the optimists, think we’re just getting started.
With CRISPR, stem cell therapy, and new "senolytic" drugs that clear out old, "zombie" cells, some think 150 is possible. But for now, Jeanne Calment is the outlier. She’s the 1-in-a-billion anomaly that proves what the human machine is capable of under the perfect circumstances.
How to Live Longer (The Realistic Version)
You probably won't hit 122. Sorry. But you can definitely aim for a healthy 90. If you look at the habits of the world's oldest people, it's rarely about extreme biohacking.
- Move Naturally: Don't just sit in a chair for 8 hours and then go to the gym for 30 minutes. The longest-lived people tend to walk, garden, and move throughout the whole day.
- Social Connection: Loneliness is literally toxic. Every supercentenarian studied has had strong ties to family, friends, or a community.
- Low Stress: Follow Jeanne’s lead. Don't sweat the things you can't control.
- Dietary Moderation: Whether it's the "Hara Hachi Bu" of Okinawa (eating until 80% full) or the Mediterranean diet, the common thread is Avoiding highly processed junk.
If you want to track the latest updates on longevity records, the Gerontology Research Group (GRG) and LongeviQuest are the gold standards. They use forensic-level verification to make sure nobody is faking their birth certificate.
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To dive deeper into your own longevity, start by focusing on "healthspan"—the years you live without chronic disease—rather than just the total number of birthdays. You can do this by prioritizing sleep hygiene and getting regular blood work to catch issues before they become "moles" in the game of health Whac-a-Mole.