People & Abilities

The Longest-Lived People Ever Verified

The 15 longest human lives that have been independently validated, ranked by age at death, with one still living (ages as of October 5, 2026). Jeanne Calment’s 122 years, 164 days stands more than three years ahead of everyone else, and all 15 are women.

Jeanne Calment, the oldest verified person ever, in a news report on her death in 1997

Pictured: Jeanne Calment of France, as shown in a news report on her death in Arles on August 4, 1997, #1 with 122 years, 164 days.

Rank Name Age (years, days) Age (years) Born Died Country Sex Status
1Jeanne Calment122 years, 164 days122February 21, 1875August 4, 1997FranceFemaleDeceased
2Kane Tanaka119 years, 107 days119January 2, 1903April 19, 2022JapanFemaleDeceased
3Sarah Knauss119 years, 97 days119September 24, 1880December 30, 1999United StatesFemaleDeceased
4Lucile Randon118 years, 340 days118February 11, 1904January 17, 2023FranceFemaleDeceased
5Nabi Tajima117 years, 260 days117August 4, 1900April 21, 2018JapanFemaleDeceased
6Marie-Louise Meilleur117 years, 230 days117August 29, 1880April 16, 1998CanadaFemaleDeceased
7Violet Brown117 years, 189 days117March 10, 1900September 15, 2017JamaicaFemaleDeceased
8María Branyas Morera117 years, 168 days117March 4, 1907August 19, 2024SpainFemaleDeceased
9Emma Morano117 years, 137 days117November 29, 1899April 15, 2017ItalyFemaleDeceased
10Chiyo Miyako117 years, 81 days117May 2, 1901July 22, 2018JapanFemaleDeceased
11Delphia Welford117 years, 66 days117September 9, 1875November 14, 1992United StatesFemaleDeceased
12Ethel Caterham117 years, 45 days (so far)117August 21, 1909LivingUnited KingdomFemaleLiving
13Misao Okawa117 years, 27 days117March 5, 1898April 1, 2015JapanFemaleDeceased
14Francisca Celsa dos Santos116 years, 349 days116October 21, 1904October 5, 2021BrazilFemaleDeceased
15María Capovilla116 years, 347 days116September 14, 1889August 27, 2006EcuadorFemaleDeceased

As of October 5, 2026, Ethel Caterham (born August 21, 1909, United Kingdom) is the only living person on the list, aged 117 years, 45 days. If she lives on, she would pass Delphia Welford (117 years, 66 days) on October 26, 2026, Chiyo Miyako on November 10, 2026, and Emma Morano on January 5, 2027, moving up the rankings and pushing others down.[14] Validation standards differ between LongeviQuest, the Gerontology Research Group and Guinness World Records, and this list follows the ranking they broadly share. Unvalidated claims of greater ages, including a woman who says she is 117 and born two days before Caterham, are excluded until their documents are checked.[18] Delphia Welford’s age rests on research by the Gerontology Research Group, which found she was born in 1875 rather than the 1881 she gave.[16]

The Top 10

#1

Jeanne Calment — 122 years, 164 days

Calment was born in Arles on February 21, 1875, and died there on August 4, 1997, at 122 years, 164 days, the longest human lifespan that has ever been independently verified.[2] Guinness World Records named her the oldest person ever in 1995, and she remains the only verified person to have reached 120.[3] Her lead over second place is more than three years.[1]

#2

Kane Tanaka — 119 years, 107 days

Born in Fukuoka Prefecture on January 2, 1903, Tanaka was confirmed by Guinness World Records as the world’s oldest living person in March 2019 and died on April 19, 2022.[4] On April 10, 2022, she passed Sarah Knauss to become the second-longest-lived verified person, and she is the oldest verified Japanese person and the oldest verified person born in Asia.[5]

#3

Sarah Knauss — 119 years, 97 days

Born September 24, 1880, Knauss lived in Pennsylvania and died in Allentown on December 30, 1999, at 119 years, 97 days.[6] She is the oldest American ever recorded and was the world’s oldest living person from April 1998 until her death.[6] Her record as second-oldest stood for more than 22 years, until Tanaka passed it in 2022.

#4

Lucile Randon — 118 years, 340 days

Known as Sister André, Randon was born on February 11, 1904, and died in Toulon on January 17, 2023, the only person verified to have died at 118.[7] She became the world’s oldest living person on April 19, 2022, after Tanaka’s death, and is the oldest nun ever recorded and the oldest confirmed survivor of COVID-19.[7]

#5

Nabi Tajima — 117 years, 260 days

Tajima was born on August 4, 1900, and died on April 21, 2018, at 117 years, 260 days.[8] She became the world’s oldest living person in September 2017 and was the last verified survivor of the 19th century, with more than 160 descendants reported at her death.[8]

#6

Marie-Louise Meilleur — 117 years, 230 days

Born August 29, 1880, Meilleur died on April 16, 1998, in Corbeil, Ontario, at 117 years, 230 days.[9] The oldest Canadian ever recorded, she inherited the title of world’s oldest person after Calment’s death and held it for about eight months.[9]

#7

Violet Brown — 117 years, 189 days

Born Violet Moss on March 10, 1900, "Aunt V" spent much of her life cutting sugar cane in western Jamaica and died on September 15, 2017, at 117 years, 189 days.[10] She was the world’s oldest verified living person for five months, from April 15, 2017, and the oldest person ever from Jamaica.[10]

#8

María Branyas Morera — 117 years, 168 days

Branyas was born in San Francisco on March 4, 1907, and returned to Catalonia with her family at age eight, so she is counted as a Spanish supercentenarian.[11] She became the world’s oldest living person in January 2023 and died on August 19, 2024; her case was later studied by researchers for what her genes and lifestyle suggest about longevity.[11]

#9

Emma Morano — 117 years, 137 days

Morano was born on November 29, 1899, and died at home in Verbania, Italy, on April 15, 2017.[12] She was the last verified person alive who had been born in the 1800s, and the world’s oldest person from May 2016 until her death.[12]

#10

Chiyo Miyako — 117 years, 81 days

Born in Wakayama, Japan, on May 2, 1901, Miyako became the world’s oldest living person after Tajima’s death in April 2018 and died on July 22, 2018, at 117 years, 81 days.[13] A lifelong calligrapher, she had both legs amputated in later life; Guinness approved her record titles just as she died.[13]

Longevity Supercentenarians Records Oldest People

Sources

  1. LongeviQuest, supercentenarian profiles (Jeanne Calment, Kane Tanaka, Sarah Knauss, Lucile Randon, Delphia Welford, Misao Okawa, Francisca Celsa dos Santos, M. Capovilla, Chiyo Miyako); Wikipedia, "List of the verified oldest people" (ranking and dates, cross-checked against the individual sources below); Gerontology Research Group (GRG).
  2. Guinness World Records, "Oldest person ever" — 122 years, 164 days, Jeanne Louise Calment, died August 4, 1997.
  3. Guinness World Records, "Oldest person ever: 122-year-old Jeanne Calment’s extraordinary life" (2024) and "Jeanne Calment: The oldest person ever"; YouTube, news report on her death (August 1997).
  4. Guinness World Records, "World’s oldest person confirmed as 116-year-old Kane Tanaka from Japan" (2019) and "World’s oldest person, Kane Tanaka, dies aged 119" (2022); YouTube, "The World’s Oldest Person Has Died."
  5. NPR, "The world’s oldest person, Japan’s Kane Tanaka, dies at age 119" (April 25, 2022); Smithsonian Magazine and CNN coverage of her death.
  6. LongeviQuest, Sarah Knauss profile; Wikipedia, Sarah Knauss (24 September 1880 – 30 December 1999).
  7. Guinness World Records, "World’s oldest person, Lucile Randon, dies aged 118" (January 2023); LongeviQuest, Lucile Randon; FRANCE 24 English, report on her death (YouTube).
  8. ABC News (Australia) and CBC, "World’s oldest person dies in Japan at age of 117" (April 2018); Daily Mail report (YouTube); Wikipedia, Nabi Tajima.
  9. Baltimore Sun, "Marie-Louise Meilleur of Canada, who turned 117…" (April 18, 1998); Wikipedia, Marie-Louise Meilleur.
  10. Associated Press via ABC and CBS affiliates, "Jamaica’s Violet Brown dies at 117; Japan woman now oldest" (September 2017); YouTube, "Jamaica’s Violet Brown, born in 1900, dies aged 117."
  11. Guinness World Records, "World’s oldest person, Maria Branyas Morera, celebrates 117th birthday" (2024); NBC News, "Maria Branyas Morera, the oldest person in the world, dies at 117"; Nature, "She lived to 117: what her genes and lifestyle tell us about longevity" (2025).
  12. CBS News, "World’s oldest person Emma Morano dies at age 117" and South China Morning Post (April 2017).
  13. Guinness World Records, "Oldest person title officially achieved by 117-year-old Chiyo Miyako before her death" (2018); The Washington Post (July 27, 2018).
  14. Guinness World Records, "World’s oldest person Ethel Caterham becomes first-ever Brit to reach age 117" (August 2026); GRG, "Ethel Caterham, world’s oldest living person, celebrated her 117th birthday" (August 21, 2026); ABC News, 117th birthday coverage.
  15. Time, "The World’s Oldest Person, Misao Okawa, Has Died in Japan Aged 117" (April 2015); LongeviQuest, Misao Okawa.
  16. MercoPress, "Brazil’s oldest person dies aged 116" (October 11, 2021); LongeviQuest, Francisca Celsa dos Santos; Delphia Welford: GRG validation (April 29, 2023) and LongeviQuest, "Was Delphia Welford 117 in 1992?" (January 2026).
  17. The Spokesman-Review, "Ecuadorean woman is now oldest" (December 2005); LongeviQuest, María Esther Heredia de Capovilla.
  18. needtoknow.co.uk, "Woman 117 born two days before record-holding Brit may be world’s oldest" (October 5, 2026) — an unvalidated claim, excluded from the table.