Marie-Louise Pellet was born in the commune of Saint-Julien-de-Jonzy in the Saône-et-Loire department in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, France, on 7 March 1914. She was the youngest of six children. She grew up on a family farm.

Pellet worked as a teacher and went to Morocco in 1938 to teach at a French school in Rabat. A year later, when World War II began, she had to return to France where she became a private tutor for the children of the Count of Saint-Bonnet-de-Joux. In 1948, following her marriage to Joseph Pellet, she moved to Saint-Symphorien-d’Ozon. Her husband was the owner of a sawmill where she later managed accounts for many years. The couple had at least four children.

In 2017, Pellet lived in a nursing home in Saint-Symphorien-d’Ozon, near Lyon. Despite being 107 years old, she could still walk without a cane, play Scrabble with her family, and take part in club games. According to her children, her secret to longevity is “healthy eating, maintaining social connections… and good genes.” On her 110th birthday, she had 7 grandchildren, and 7 great-grandchildren.