World's oldest woman dies in France at 118

A French nun who was believed to be the world’s oldest person has died a few weeks before her 119th birthday, the spokesperson for her nursing home said Wednesday.

Lucile Randon, known as Sister André, was born in southern France on Feb. 11, 1904. 

The Gerontology Research Group, which validates details of people thought to be 110 or older, listed her as the oldest known person in the world after the death of Japan’s Kane Tanaka, aged 119, last year.

In April last year, asked about her exceptional longevity through two world wars, she told French media that “working … makes you live. I worked until I was 108.”

She was known to enjoy a daily glass of wine and chocolate.

The oldest living known person in the world listed by the Gerontology Research Group is now American-born Maria Branyas Morera, who is living in Spain, and is 115.

The oldest living man is Juan Vicente Perez Mora of Venezuela, age 113. The oldest American-born man is reported to be Alphonso Wilkerson, born in Kansas 109 years ago.



Sister Andre poses for a portrait at the Sainte Catherine Laboure care home in Toulon, southern France, Wednesday, April 27, 2022. The French nun who was believed to be the world's oldest person died at 118 in her sleep early Tuesday Jan.17, 2023, the spokesperson for her nursing home in Toulon, David Tavella, said Wednesday. (AP Photo/Daniel Cole, File)