Jeanne Louise Calment (1875-1997) was the oldest human whose age was well-documented, with a reputed lifespan of 122 years and 164 days. Calment outlived her husband, her daughter, and grandson. She was widely reported to have been the oldest living person in 1988 at 112, and was declared the oldest living person ever in 1995 at age 120.

She lived in Arles, France, for her entire life. In 1896 Jeanne married a wealthy distant cousin, Fernand Nicolas Calment, and didn’t have to work for a living. She was free to swim, play tennis, and cycle -she was still cycling until the age of 100- and roller skate. Her diet was rich in olive oil -which she also rubbed into her skin- and she restricted herself to a modest glass of wine every now and then. She liked chocolate and ate almost 1 kg (2 lb 3 oz) of it each week. At the age of 117 she quit smoking.

She lived on her own until the age of 110, when she had to move into a nursing home. One month before her 115th birthday, she fell and fractured her femur; thereafter she needed a wheelchair to get around.

A Russian researcher Nikolay Zak claimed that Calment, in fact, died at the age of 59 in 1934, and her daughter, Yvonne, assumed her identity. After a meeting of the National Institute for Demographic Studies (INED) in Paris on 23 January 2019, French, Swiss and Belgian longevity experts stated that the Russian study provided no proof of an identity substitution.

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