This Woman Just Became the Oldest Living Person in the World

At 116 years old, ​Italy's Emma Morano has lived a good, long life — so long, in fact, that she's officially just become the oldest known living person in the world. 

After the death of 116-year-old Susannah Mushatt Jones in New York earlier this week, Morano not only became the world's oldest known living human, but also the last known person to be born in the 1800s. That's right: With a birthdate of November 29, 1899, Morana has seen the turn of not one, but two centuries. 

"I am doing fine — 116!," she said from her bed on Friday, according to ​NBC​."I finished school and I went to work. I used to sing. I had a beautiful voice."

Morano received the news from her doctor of 23 years, Carlo Bava, while surrounded by family and friends in her one bedroom apartment. Her physician believes the secret to her longevity is likely genetic, given that both of her sisters also lived to over (or near) 100. However, in case food has anything to do with it, Morano is currently on a diet that includes "two raw eggs and 100 grams of raw steak a day," as well as homemade apple sauce, made by her nieces.

"She is a person who from a young age had a difficult life that would have sapped the energy out of anyone," Bava told ​NBC​. "She abandoned [her abusive] husband in the Fascist era, when women were supposed to be submissive ... The beauty of Emma is that it is normal that she smiles, but also in difficulties, she is very decisive​."

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