She’s the oldest person in Europe, the fifth oldest in the world and one of the few people for whom the title “supercentenarian” has a double meaning: not only has Emma Morano lived past her 100th birthday (the landmark at which approximately 1 out of every 1,000 centenarians lives to level up into supercentenarian mode), she also credits her long life to being super, super rad.
In a fascinating New York Times profile, Morano, who conducts interviews from her home in Verbania, Italy, shares what it’s like to be one of the few living people to have seen the past three centuries (to recap, that means she’s experienced two world wars, years of civil unrest, and Italy’s transformation from a farm-based economy to industrialized nation): “115 years are a lot.”
Morano told The Times that she credits her longevity in part to raw eggs, eating three per day since a doctor recommended she try the diet in her teens to treat anemia. (She’s eaten approximately 100,000 raw eggs to date. Eat your heart out, Gaston.)
The celebrity supercentenarian also tells visiting researchers that steering clear of men after her first marriage has been essential to her longevity:
She is also convinced that being single for most of her life, after an unhappy marriage that ended in 1938 following the death of an infant son, has kept her kicking. Separation was rare then, and divorce became legal in Italy only in 1970. She said she had plenty of suitors after that, but never chose another partner. “I didn’t want to be dominated by anyone,” she said.
I don’t know if there’s ever been a more appropriate time for some Donna gifs:
To learn more about Morano’s long life and to see pictures of the 115-year-old chilling at home, I definitely recommend checking out the full Times profile. To quote Morano’s doctor, “She’s aware of the privilege of living […] If all my patients were like this, I could have spent my days reading newspapers.”
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