Here, I have prepared a list of the 10 oldest women in history. The women included in this list are the verified oldest women. I do not mean to say these are the only oldest and this list is final because there might be many women much older than that of the women included in this list. The oldest women have been ranked in descending order. This list is confined to the verified oldest women, verified by any esteemed magazine like Forbes or book like Guinness Book of the World Record.
10-Besse Cooper (Age: 116 years and 100 days)
Besse Berry Cooper was born on August 26, 1896 and died on December 4, 2012. She was born in Sullivan Country, Tennessee, U.S. She died at the age of 116 years 100 days. She died of respiratory failure. Until her death, she was the world’s oldest living person from June 21, 2011. She also was a keen scholar in her childhood. She started her career as a schoolteacher. Besse Berry Cooper married Luther Cooper in 1924. She had four children with him. Her husband died at the age of 68. Besse Berry had four children, 11 grandchildren, 13 great-grandchildren, and two great-great-grandchildren at the time of her death. She attributed her longevity to avoiding junk food and “minding her own business”.
9-Elizabeth Bolden (Age: 116 years and 118 days)
Elizabeth Jones “Lizzie” was born on August 15, 1890, and died on December 11, 2006, at the age of 116 years and 118 days. She was recognized by the Guinness Book of the World Record as the world’s oldest living person. She was the daughter of freed slaves. She had 40 grandchildren, 75 great-grandchildren, 150 great-great-grandchildren, 220 great-great-great-grandchildren and 75 great-great-great-great-grandchildren. She was verified in April 2005 as being the oldest documented resident of the US since the death of Emma Verona Johnston.
8-Tane Ikai (Age: 116 years and 175 days)
Tane Ikai was born on January 18, 1879, and died on July 12, 1995. He was a Japanese supercentenarian. She died at the age of 116 years and 175 days. Tane Ikai was the first person from Japan verified to have celebrated the 116th birthday. She was born in the village of Kansei, Aichi Prefecture. Tane married at age 20. She had three sons and a daughter from him. She died of kidney failure.
7-Gertrude Weaver (Age: 116 years and 276 days)
Gertrude Weaver was born on July 4, 1898 and died on April 6, 2015. She died at the age of 116 years 276 days. She was an African American. She was born in Lafayette County. She married Gennie Weaver. She had four children with Gennie Weaver. When she died, one of her sons was alive at age 93. She died of Pneumonia at Silver Oaks Health and Rehabilitation Center. Amazingly, she was the last living person who was born in 1898.
6-María Capovilla (Age: 116 years and 347 days)
Maria Esther Heredia Lecaro De Capovilla is famously known as Maria Capovilla. She was born on September 14, 1889 and died on August 27, 2006. She was an Ecuadorian supercentenarian. She died at the age of 116 years and 347 days. Maria never smoked or drank hard liquor. Maria married a military officer who died in 1949. She had five children with him. Maria also had 12 grandchildren, 20 great-grandchildren, and 2 great-great-grandchildren. Maria’s life spanned three centuries and the rule of 33 elected Ecuadorian Presidents. She was named World’s Oldest Person by Guinness World Records in December 2005. She died of Pneumonia in Guayaquil, Ecuador.
5-Misao Okawa (Age: 117 years and 27 days)
Misao Okawa was born on March 5, 1898, and died on April 1st, 2015. She died at the age of 117 years 27 days after suffering from heart failure. She was a Japanese supercentenarian. She was the world’s oldest living person from the death of Japanese man Jiroemon Kimura until her death. Misao married Yukio Okawa in 1919. She had three children with him. Misao Okawa was officially recognized by Guinness World Records as the oldest living woman in the world. She was presented with a certificate at her nursing home in Osaka.
4-Marie-Louise Meilleur (Age: 117 years and 230 days)
Marie-Louise Meilleur was born on August 29, 1880, and died on April 16, 1998. She died at the age of 117 years and 230 days. Marie was born in Kamouraska, Quebec, Canada. She married her first husband in Kamouraska, Quebec in 1900. She had four children with her first husband and six children from her second husband. Marie had 85 grandchildren, eighty great-grandchildren, 57, great-great-grandchildren, and four great-great-great-grandchildren. In April 1998 she died of a blood clot.
3-Lucy Hannah (Age: 117 years and 248 days)
Lucy Hannah was born on July 16, 1875, and died on March 21, 1993. She died at the age of 117 years and 248 days. She was African American. She was an American Supercentenarian. She was born Lucy Terrell in Linden, Alabama. She died in Detroit. Lucy Hannah married John Hannah in 1901. She had eight children with John Hannah. Her mother reached 99 and two of her sisters reached 100.
2-Sarah Knauss (Age: 119 years and 97 days)
Sarah Knauss was born on September 24, 1880, and died on December 30, 1999. She died at the age of 119 years and 97 days. She was born in Hollywood, Pennsylvania, U.S. Sarah was the last verified living person to have been born before 1885. She lived her entire life in Pennsylvania. Sarah married Abraham Lincoln Knauss in 1901. Sarah was a skilled seamstress. She made her wedding dress. At the time of the sinking of the RMS Titanic in 1912, she was 31 years old.
1-Jeanne Calment (Age: 122 years and 164 days)
Jeanne Louise Calment was born on February 21, 1875, and died on August 4, 1997. She died at the age of 122 years, 164 days. For her entire life, Jeanne lived in Arles, France. Her father was a shipbuilder. She married her double second cousin in 1896. He was a wealthy store owner. Her husband died at the age of 73 after eating a dessert prepared with spoiled cherries. She had only a daughter named Yvonne Marie Nicolle Calment. Her daughter died at the age of 36 in an automobile accident on August 13, 1963. It is the most amazing thing that at the age of 85 Calment took up fencing and continued to ride her bicycle up until her 100th birthday. In an interview, she attributed her longevity and relatively youthful appearance for her age to a diet rich in olive oil and port wine. She also used to rub olive oil into her skin. She used to eat one-kilogram chocolate every week.
