In a recent TODAY piece for NBC News, Caroline Kee talks with Brooklyn filmmaker Sam Green about his new documentary, The Oldest Person in the World. Over a decade, Green reportedly set out to meet each successive holder of the Guinness World Record for oldest living person.
Green recounts his journey, which began in 2015 when he met Susannah Mushatt Jones, an 116-year-old woman from New York. The current titleholder is Ethel Caterham of Surrey, England, who recently turned 117 years-old. Green likens earning the title to being struck by lightning. During filming, he was diagnosed with blood cancer, which transformed the project into a means of confronting his own mortality.
Everyone wants to know the one secret, Green says. The answers he got were idiosyncratic. Emma Morano of Italy credited daily eggs and staying well away from men. Sister André, a French nun who lived to 118 years-old, called it God’s decision. Green’s own conclusion is that there is no secret, but there are commonalities. Much of longevity is common sense, he says, shaped by genetics, lifestyle and an element of luck.
They’re Women
Kee reports that every title holder from 2015 to 2025 was female.
- Green estimates the oldest person in the world is a woman about 99% of the time. That includes the oldest person ever recorded, Jeanne Calment of France, who died in 1997 at 122.
- According to the New England Centenarian Study, women make up over 85% of centenarians and over 90% of supercentenarians.
- Theories range from genetic and biological differences to environmental and behavioral ones. Green was surprised to find no single explanation, and says he appreciates the mystery.
They Have a Positive Outlook
Green tells Kee that nobody who reaches the title sees the glass as half-empty.
- Many faced great hardship. Kane Tanaka of Japan, who died at 119 in 2022, lived through World War II, saw her son taken prisoner, outlived all her children and had cancer twice. Her advice, as Green relays it: don’t worry and don’t think too hard about things.
- Maria Branyas lived through the 1918 flu pandemic, nursed soldiers in the Spanish Civil War and survived Covid-19. Asked about her life, she spoke about the good times. Her X bio, run with her family’s help, read: “I’m old, very old, but not an idiot.”
- Green also noticed that almost none of them talked about dying. “Not dwelling on it, he suggests, may be part of living longer”.
They’re Surrounded by People
Kee writes that every supercentenarian Green met had people around them who loved and cared for them, whether family, friends or caregivers.
- Sister André chose a retirement home for nuns, where Green says she was completely adored.
- Violet Brown of Jamaica lived in her own home until her death at 117 in 2017, joined in the film by her son, who reached 96, and her home care staff. Green recalls one attendant who plainly marvelled at her.
They Stick to Routines
Green observed that most followed consistent schedules for sleep, meals, movement and social time.
- Many worked well into old age. Violet Brown was a church organist and music teacher for over 80 years. Sister André volunteered past 100.
- None followed strict “Blue Zone” diets, Kee notes, but they stayed consistent. Emma Morano ate three raw eggs a day. Her doctor told Green something he hadn’t considered: her body knew exactly what it was getting, and when.
They Enjoy Life, in Moderation
Green describes them as relatively healthy people who lived in a spirit of moderation rather than abstinence.
- Many enjoyed meat, dairy and sweets. Susannah Mushatt Jones ate bacon every morning. Some drank, and Jeanne Calment smoked well past 100.
- Branyas said that when she was young, she had a lot of fun like all young people do.
- They also didn’t take life too seriously. Asked how it felt to be the oldest person in the world, Branyas said it was no big deal.
Kee’s piece doesn’t go beyond describing these observations as a pattern, and neither does Green. What he presents is a pattern, not a set of rules: women, predominantly, who endured challenging lives, maintained hope, nurtured close relationships, adhered to their routines, and found joy without excess. Green intends to continue filming the world’s oldest individuals for the rest of his life, with a new documentary slated for release in ten years.
Acknowledgement: This summary was generated using AI writing tools as part of my AI exploration process. For more information, check out the original articles listed below.