BIOGRAPHY

Yvonne Benoit was born in Nogent-sur-Marne, Val-de-Marne, Île-de-France, on 8 September 1913. She began working at the age of 14 and spent 20 years of her career at a prominent Parisian perfumer. Never having married or had children, she fell in love with the Mediterranean in 1948 and left Paris to become an executive secretary at the Renée-Sabran Hospital in Giens, where she assisted the director and managed the mail. She also worked at the Rouyer-Warnier Foundation in La Croix-Valmer in the admissions office.

Described as sporty and a non-smoker, she sometimes enjoyed an aperitif. When asked about the secret to her longevity, she said she didn’t have one, noted that she was never ill, and jokingly claimed she didn’t know what illness was. Several members of her family reached the age of 100, and her father passed away from the flu at the age of 85.

On 1 March 2019, at the age of 105, she underwent surgery for a new artificial hip at the Renée-Sabran Hospital. She had previously received an artificial hip in her left leg, which had been fitted 35 years earlier. Three weeks after her operation, she remarked that her overall health was “flourishing,” though her leg was still painful. At that time, she maintained a very good memory, recalling nursery rhymes she used to sing as a child. She was initially supported at home by the Little Brothers of the Poor organization in Hyères (Les Petits Frères des Pauvres de Hyères) until she turned 108, after which she moved to the Mont Aurélien retirement home in Nans-les-Pins.

Yvonne Benoit passed away in Nans-les-Pins, Var, Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur, on 8 February 2024, at the age of 110 years, 153 days.

RECOGNITION

Her age was validated by the European Supercentenarian Organisation (ESO) on 9 November 2023, but this validation has not yet been recognized by LongeviQuest.

ATTRIBUTION

* “Yvonne, 105 ans, repart pour une danse” – var-matin, 23 March 2019

* “Super centenaire, Yvonne Benoît fête ses 110 ans le 8 septembre” – Presse Agence, 31 August 2023

GALLERY