The world's oldest woman who died at 122, believed that the secret to longevity is not diet or exercise, BUT...

The average life expectancy around the world is 71 years, though this varies greatly due to region and country. However, imagine outliving your expected age by not one decade, but rather 5 decades! Yes, you heard that right. A French woman, named Jeanne Calment, holds the record for the oldest living woman ever recorded, who eventually died at the staggering age of 122 years and 164 days. Here's her fascinating story....

Early life
Jeanne Calment was born on February 21, 1875, in Arles, Bouches-du-Rhône, Provence. Her family exhibited remarkable longevity: her older brother François (1865–1962) lived to 97 years, her father Nicolas (1837–1931), a shipbuilder, reached 93 years, and her mother Marguerite Gilles (1838–1924), from a family of millers, lived to 86 years.

Calment married at 21, and gave birth to a daughter in 1898. Eventually, she outlived her husband, daughter, son-in-law, and even grandson (who passed away in an accident) At 110, she moved into a nursing home, having lived on her own till then. A documentary on her life, titled Beyond 120 Years with Jeanne Calment, was released in 1995.

Habits
Calment remained in good health for most of her life, except for a few ailments here and there. At age 20, incipient cataracts were discovered when she suffered a major episode of conjunctivitis. Since she was married into a wealthy family, she never worked, which allowed her to take good care of herself, with olive oil and a 'puff of powder'. Her husband introduced her to cigarettes after meals, but she reportedly never smoked outside those hours. She also reportedly enjoyed port wine, and consumed fatty foods such as chocolate—sometimes as much as two pounds per week. According to reports, she loved fried food, and would rather have that, than the bland food served in the nursing home.

Exercise
Even though not big on exercise, Calment remained active most her life. According to reports, seated on her armchair, Calment did gymnastics wearing her stereo headset in the nursing home. Her exercises included flexing and stretching the hands, then the legs. Nurses noted that she moved faster than other residents who were 'almost 30 years younger.'

Death
At 115, Calment had a moderately weak heart, a chronic cough, and bouts of rheumatism. Her medical tests showed that her verbal memory and language fluency were comparable to those of persons with the same level of education in their eighties and nineties, (though her memory was failing) and she remained 'mentally sharp' till the end of time. She eventually died on 4 August 1997, and doctors said that she had been in good health, but almost 'deaf and blind.'
Secret behind her age
According to reports, Jeanne Calment attributed her long life to staying active, having a good sense of humor, and maintaining a relaxed attitude toward life, making her an intriguing exception to conventional health advice. Later on, researchers said that there is a chance that she might be younger to 122 when she died, but the proofs were inconclusive.