Biography
Jeanne Louise Calment was born at 7:00 AM on 21 February 1875 in Arles, France. Her close family members also lived to an advanced age: her brother, Francois, lived to the age of 97, her father, Nicolas, 92, and her mother, Marguerite, 86.
In 1896, she married her second cousin (grandson of her great-uncle) Fernand Calment, a wealthy store owner. His wealth made it possible for Calment to never have to work; instead she led a relaxed lifestyle, pursuing hobbies like tennis, cycling, swimming, rollerskating, piano and opera. Her husband died in 1942 after eating a dessert that happened to contain spoiled cherries.
Jeanne and her husband had a daughter, Yvonne (19 January 1898 – 19 January 1934), who died from pneumonia on her 36th birthday. Jeanne outlived her grandson Frederic as well. Frederic Billot (23 December 1926 – 13 August 1963), Yvonne’s son, died in an automobile accident. Calment was very healthy for her age.
At the age of 100, Calment suffered a fall which broke her ankle, but Calment to learn to walk again and continued living independantly. She lived on her own until two weeks before her 110th birthday in 1984. But after a small fire set in her house one day, she reluctantly moved to a nursing home.
Neuropsychologist Karen Ritchie tested Calment for incipient dementia over a number of years, she found that Calment not only didn’t suffer from dementia but saw her cognitive abilities improve through the testing.
Following her 122nd birthday, it was announced that Calment would no longer make any public appearances. Calment died on 4 August 1997 in Arles, Provence-Alpes-Cote d’Azur, France at the age of 122 years, 164 days.