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Top 10 Unknown Facts about Jeanne Calment

Jeanne Calment was a French supercentenarian, who lived for 122 years and 164 days. She is officially the oldest documented person.

Calment was born in 1875 to a rich family in Arles, Provence. Her father was a shipbuilder and her mother was from a family of millers.

Jeanne died in 1995 at a nursing home in Arles, Bouches-du-Rhône, France, from unspecified causes. She is probably the best-documented person in history, having been listed in fourteen census records.

Here are the top 10 unknown facts about her.

1. Jeanne Calment Married her Cousin

One unknown fact about Calment is that she married her double second cousin named Fernand Nicholas. Their paternal grandfathers were brothers and their paternal grandmothers were sisters.

Fernand Nicholas Calment started to court her when she was 15 years old but was unsuccessful because she was not interested in marriage at that young age.

The couple finally got married six years later, on 8 April 1896., and her marriage lasted for 46 years. Fernand died in1942, and Together they had only one daughter named Yvonne Marie Nicolle Calment.

2. Jeanne Calment outlived her Daughter and her Grandson

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Jeanne Calment gave birth to her only daughter Yvonne Nicolle Calment, on 19^th January 1898. Yvonne married an army officer named Joseph Billot on February 3, 1926.

Frederic the only son of Joseph and Yvonne was born on 23 December 1926. Yvonne Calment died due to Lung inflammation on 19 January 1934, she was 36 years old.

Jeanne was left to raise her grandson Frederic, though he lived with his father in a neighboring apartment. Frederic died in a car accident in 1963, aged 37 years old, leaving Calment without an heir.

3. Jeanne Calment was accused of Impersonation

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Jean Calment’s lifespan has several years different than any other recorded oldest person’s lifespan. Skeptics found the difference as a reason to question the authenticity of her age.

In 2018, Russian gerontologist Valery Novoselov and mathematician Nikolay Zak alleged that Jean had died in 1934. And that it is her daughter Yvonne, 23 years younger who had assumed her mother’s identity.

The allegations were later dismissed after a proper investigation was conducted, and the authenticity of Jeanne’s identity and age was confirmed.

4. Jeanne Calment did not Work all her Life

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Jeanne Calment was born in 1875 and lived with her parent until she got married at the age of 21. She was not assigned any duties at home, and she passed most of her time improving her piano skills.

Calment got married in 1896 to a wealthy husband Fernand Calment, who was heir to a drapery business located in the center of arles.

After the marriage, the couple moved into a spacious apartment above the family store, where Calment employed servants and never had to work.

She lived a privileged lifestyle within the upper-class society of Arles and spent her time playing the piano and making music with friends.

In her final years, she lived off a monthly revenue of 2,500 franks, that she received as part of an agreement she had signed during the sale of her apartment.

5. Jeanne Calment is the Officially oldest Documented Person

In 1986, Calment became the oldest living person in France at the age of 111. In 1987, she was recognized by Guinness World Records as the world’s oldest living person at the age of 112.

Calment lost the title in 1990 when Carrie C. White of the United States claimed to have been born in 1874. She again regained the title a year later after the death of White in1991.

The Guinness book of records named her the oldest person ever on 17 October 1995. Far exceeding any other verified human lifespan.

6. Longevity ran in her Family

Jeanne Calment lived for 122 years and 164 days, more than any other recorded person. She attributed her longevity to eating chocolates, drinking spot wine, and her continuous use of olive oil.

According to the experts, Calment’s genetic makeup may have played a big role in her long lifespan.

Some of her close family members also lived above-average lifespans,  as her older brother François, lived for 97 years, while Her father and mother lived for 93 years and 86 years respectively.

7. Jeanne Calment lived a Health Life

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In a television interview, Calment stated she did not take any medicine throughout her life, apart from aspirin she took against migraines in her youth.

Jeanne was physically fit and had not suffered any other injury before she fractured her leg at the age of 100. She recovered quickly and was able to walk again without any assistance.

She was in good health until she died on 4 August 1997. Doctors were unable to confirm the cause of her cause death, but she had gone almost completely blind one month before she died.

8. Jeanne Calment kept a Daily Routine

Calment lived on her own since the death of her grandson and her son-in-law in 1963. She decided to move to a nursing home a few days before her 110th birthday.

After her admission to the Maison du Lac nursing home in January 1985, Jeanne kept a highly strict daily routine.

She would wake up at 6:45 am; recite along player at her window, before having coffee with milk and rusks for breakfast. In the morning hours, she did the right exercises, wash unassisted, and then proceed for lunch where she enjoyed a meal of braised beef.

In the afternoon, she would take a nap for two hours in her armchair, and then visit her neighbors in the care home. And in the evening she would quickly take her dinner, retire to her room, listen to some music and smoke a cigarette before going to bed at 10:00 pm.

9. Jeanne Calment’s Long Life attracted Doctors and Researchers

Jeanne’s long lifespan attracted the curiosity of doctors and researchers, who wanted to learn the reasons behind her healthy long life. One such researcher was Jean-Marie Robine, who collaborated with Jeanne’s attending doctor to interview and identify the factors promoting her longevity.

After a one-year-long analysis, they found that she had a moderately weak heart, and her vision was severely impaired by bilateral cataracts. To their surprise, she flatly refused to undergo a minor operation to restore her eyesight.

Jeanne Calment also had a small body frame, with a height of 137cms and a weight of 40kgs, her digestion was measured to be normal and she always slept well.

10. Jeanne Calment quit Smoking at the age of 117

Jeanne may have been the oldest and the longest smoker ever. She smoked until she was 117 years old, almost for 100 years.

Her husband introduced her to smoking after their marriage in 1896. She continued smoking until she finally quit in 1992, citing she was no longer able to light a cigarette due to her poor eyesight.