Maria de Paiva Pereira was born in Itajubá, Minas Gerais, Brazil, on 26 December 1907 (claimed 2 January 1908). Her parents were Lázaro Severino Paiva and Bárbara Maria Vieira.

At some point, she married Pedro de Alcântara Pereira with whom she had ten children.

In 1972, she moved to Pinheirinho, Itajubá, Minas Gerais, Brazil. She worked as a teacher in “Academia Itajubense de Letras” in Itajubá.

At the age of 100, she wrote the poem titled “Saudade”, in honor of one of her children. In 2018, she had a lot of descendants, including great-great-grandchildren.

Maria de Paiva Pereira died on 1 July 2020 at the age of 112 years, 188 days (claimed 112 years, 181 days).