World’s oldest woman smoked and drank wine regularly and still lived to 122
Jeanne Calment’s life was never a model of modern wellness culture. It was a contradiction—almost a challenge to everything we think we know about longevity. Born in 1875, she lived long enough to witness the world shift from gas-lit streets to the digital age, surviving two world wars, economic collapse, and dramatic social change. She also outlived her husband, her only child, and her grandson—an emotional burden that would break many long before reaching old age. Yet those who encountered…