122 Years And 164 Days: The 10 Longest-Lived People Ever And Their Shocking Longevity Secrets

The quest to live forever is one of humanity’s oldest and most persistent fascinations. While the average global life expectancy continues to rise, one person stands alone at the absolute pinnacle of documented human longevity: a Frenchwoman whose extraordinary life spanned 122 years and 164 days. As of the current date, December 2025, her record remains unbroken, yet the scientific community is constantly debating the true biological limit of the human body.

This article dives deep into the life of the world’s oldest person, exploring her surprising lifestyle habits—including a notorious love for chocolate and cigarettes—and presents the definitive list of the top 10 verified supercentenarians. We also examine the latest gerontology research and the ongoing, intense controversy that has sought to challenge the most remarkable age ever recorded.

The Undisputed Record Holder: Jeanne Calment’s Full Biography

The title of the "oldest person to ever live" is held by Jeanne Louise Calment, a woman whose existence bridged three centuries and witnessed a staggering amount of global change. Born when the bicycle was a new invention and dying in the age of the internet, her life is a unique historical anomaly.

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• Full Name: Jeanne Louise Calment
• Born: February 21, 1875
• Died: August 4, 1997
• Age at Death: 122 years and 164 days
• Birthplace: Arles, Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur, France
• Spouse: Fernand Nicolas Calment (married 1896, died 1942)
• Children: One daughter, Yvonne Marie Nicolle Calment (died 1934)
• Key Historical Fact: She claimed to have met the painter Vincent van Gogh in her father's shop in 1888, describing him as "very ugly, ungracious, and sick."

Calment was born into a wealthy family that owned a shipbuilding business. This financial comfort meant she never had to work a full-time job, allowing her a stress-free and leisurely lifestyle that many researchers now cite as a contributing factor to her extreme longevity.

Her life was marked by both great joy and immense tragedy. She outlived her only daughter, Yvonne, who died of pneumonia in 1934, and her husband, Fernand, who died in 1942. She also outlived her only grandson, Frédéric, who died in a car accident in 1963.

In 1965, at the age of 90, Calment signed a *viager* (a French reverse mortgage) contract with a lawyer, André-François Raffray. The agreement stipulated that Raffray would pay her 2,500 francs a month until her death, in exchange for inheriting her apartment. Raffray died 30 years later in 1995, forcing his family to continue the payments until Calment’s death two years later.

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Jeanne Calment’s Shocking Longevity Secrets and Lifestyle

When asked for her secrets to a long life, Calment’s answers often defied conventional health wisdom, creating a media sensation and fueling the public's curiosity. Her habits were a stark contrast to the typical advice on diet and exercise.

One of her most famous—and shocking—habits was smoking. She smoked from the age of 21 until she was 117, only quitting because her near-blindness made it difficult to light the cigarette without asking for help.

Her diet was equally unconventional. She was known to consume more than two pounds of chocolate every week, and she had a particular fondness for port wine. She also used olive oil in nearly all her food and rubbed it onto her skin.

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Other key factors cited in her remarkable lifespan include:

• Active Lifestyle: She was an avid cyclist until she was 100 years old.
• Stress-Free Living: Her financial independence meant she lived a life of leisure, free from the daily burdens of work.
• Social Engagement: She maintained an active social life, which is a common trait among centenarians and supercentenarians.

The Controversy: Was Jeanne Calment a Fraud?

Despite the official validation by the Gerontology Research Group (GRG) and Guinness World Records, Calment’s age has been the subject of a highly publicized controversy in recent years. This dispute adds a layer of intrigue to the story of the world's oldest person.

In 2018, Russian gerontologist Yuri Deigin and mathematician Nikolay Zak published a paper suggesting that Jeanne Calment was, in fact, her daughter, Yvonne. The theory posits that Yvonne assumed her mother's identity in 1934 to avoid paying inheritance taxes after the real Jeanne Calment died.

The main arguments supporting the identity fraud theory are:

• Documentary Inconsistencies: Alleged discrepancies in eye color and height over time.
• The *Viager* Motive: The massive financial incentive for the family to continue the fraud after the lawyer died.
• Interview Behavior: Calment’s apparent confusion in later interviews about specific details of her daughter's life.

However, French scientists and demographers who validated Calment's age have strongly rejected these claims, citing the extensive paper trail, public records, and interviews conducted over decades. They maintain that the evidence for her true age is overwhelming and that the controversy is based on "magical thinking" rather than scientific fact.

The 10 Longest-Lived Verified People in Human History

The people who live past the age of 110 are known as supercentenarians. The list of the top 10 longest-lived people is almost exclusively female, highlighting a known biological advantage in female longevity. As of late 2025, the oldest living person whose age is validated is Ethel Caterham of the United Kingdom, born August 21, 1909, who is 116 years old.

Here is the definitive list of the 10 oldest people whose ages have been fully validated by gerontology experts:

1. Jeanne Calment (France): 122 years, 164 days (1875–1997)
2. Kane Tanaka (Japan): 119 years, 107 days (1903–2022)
3. Sarah Knauss (USA): 119 years, 97 days (1880–1999)
4. Lucile Randon (Sister André) (France): 118 years, 340 days (1904–2023)
5. Nabi Tajima (Japan): 117 years, 260 days (1900–2018)
6. Marie-Louise Meilleur (Canada): 117 years, 230 days (1880–1998)
7. Violet Brown (Jamaica): 117 years, 189 days (1900–2017)
8. Emma Morano (Italy): 117 years, 137 days (1899–2017)
9. Chiyo Miyako (Japan): 117 years, 35 days (1901–2018)
10. Misao Okawa (Japan): 116 years, 272 days (1898–2015)

The oldest verified man ever is Jiroemon Kimura of Japan, who lived to 116 years and 54 days (1897–2013).

The Science of Extreme Longevity: The Maximum Human Lifespan Limit

The existence of supercentenarians like Calment and Tanaka drives intensive research in gerontology and longevity medicine. Scientists are working to understand the biological mechanisms that allow a select few to bypass the typical limits of human aging.

The central question is whether there is a fixed maximum human lifespan limit. Recent research suggests that while human life expectancy has plateaued, the ceiling for the maximum age is not necessarily fixed.

One prominent school of thought, based on models of human aging, suggests that the human lifespan may max out around 150 years. This theory is based on the body's declining resilience to illness and its ability to recover from stress, which drops sharply after age 110.

Conversely, other studies indicate an 89% chance that someone will live to 126 during the 21st century, breaking Calment’s record. The key to unlocking this extreme longevity, according to researchers, lies in advancements in cellular and molecular biology, such as:

• DNA Repair and Reprogramming: Technologies that can fix cellular damage caused by aging.
• Multiomics Blueprint: Understanding the complex genetic and biochemical pathways of supercentenarians.
• Senolytics: Drugs designed to eliminate senescent (aging) cells from the body.

The story of the oldest person ever is more than just a number; it is a profound intersection of history, personal resilience, and cutting-edge science. Whether Jeanne Calment’s record of 122 years and 164 days will ever be surpassed remains the most compelling question in the field of longevity.