February 21: Jeanne Louise Calment

Jeanne Louise Calment, the longest lived person ever, for whom reliable records exist, at least, was born on this date in 1875.

1. She is the longest lived person ever, living to the grand old age of 122 years and 164 days.
2. At the age of 114, she appeared briefly in the 1990 film Vincent and Me as herself, making her the oldest actress ever.
3. In 1996, Time's Mistress, a four-track CD of Calment speaking over a background of rap, was released.
4. She remembered seeing the Eiffel Tower being built, attending the funeral of Victor Hugo in 1885, and meeting Van Gogh in her father's shop at the age of 14. She described him as "dirty, badly dressed and disagreeable."
5. She lived in Arles, France, for her entire life.
6. At 21, she married her double second cousin, Fernand Nicolas Calment, a wealthy store owner. Their paternal grandfathers were brothers, hence the same surname, and their paternal grandmothers were sisters.
7. Her descendants didn't live anything like as long. Her daughter, Yvonne Marie Nicolle Calment, died one day before her 36th birthday from pneumonia, and her grandson, Frédéric Billiot, a doctor, died in an automobile accident at 36.
8. In 1965, at 90 and with no heirs, Calment signed a deal to sell her apartment to lawyer André-François Raffray, on a contingency contract. Raffray, then aged 47 years, agreed to pay her a monthly sum of 2,500 francs until she died. Raffray ended up paying Calment the equivalent of more than $180,000, which was more than double the apartment's value, and his wife continued the payments to Calment after he died.
9. At age 85 she took up fencing, and continued to ride her Bicycle up until her 100th birthday. She lived alone until she was 110.
10. So, you're thinking, she must have led a supremely abstinent life? Nope. She was a smoker from the age of 21, although she cut down to two a day in her later years; she drank port wine and ate nearly one kilogram (2.2 lb) of Chocolate a week. She said her secret was olive oil, as part of her diet and also rubbed into her skin, and keeping calm. She said, "I took pleasure when I could. I acted clearly and morally and without regret."