Jeanne Calment, who died on 4 August, 1997, at the age of 122 years and 164 days, reached the longest confirmed lifespan of any person in history.

After claiming the title of the 'world's oldest person' in 1989, at the age of 113, Calment was officially recognised as the 'oldest person ever' in 1995 at the age of 120 years and 238 days.

Ms Calment led an extraordinary life and can be regarded as a phenomenon. In addition to her lifespan, other impressive feats included taking up fencing at the age of 85, continuing to ride her bike at the age of 100 and living by herself until the age of 110.

She attributed her long life to chocolate, olive oil and port wine, as well as what some referred to as an immunity to stress, having once stated: "If you can't do anything about it, don't worry about it."

Jeanne Louise Calment was born on 21 February, 1875, in Arles, France. She was born before the invention of the light bulb, the airplane and the automobile.

In 1896 she married her second cousin, Fernand Calment, a wealthy store owner. Her husband's wealth ensured that she would never have to work, and led a relaxed lifestyle, pursuing hobbies like tennis, cycling, swimming, roller-skating, the piano and opera.

Ms Calment gave birth to her only child, Yvonne, in 1898, who later gave birth to her only grandchild, Frédéric. She went on to outlive all of her immediate family, her husband by 55 years, Yvonne by 63 years and Frédéric by 37 years.

In 1965, two years after Frédéric's death, at the age of 90, Calment signed a contract to sell her apartment at the time of her death to a lawyer, François Raffray. In exchange Mr Raffray, who was 47 at the time, would pay her a monthly figure until she died. Having paid twice the apartments value, Mr Raffray died at the age of 77 in 1995. His family continued to make payments to Ms Calment following his death.

Ms Calment moved into a nursing home in 1985, having lived on her own until age 110. She was still in good shape, and was able to walk until a fall at age 114.

It wasn't until 1988 that Ms Calment reached international fame, with the centenary of Vincent Van Gogh's visit to Arles. Having met Van Gogh, reporters were fascinated to hear her describe him as “very ugly, ungracious, impolite, sick. ... We called him a madman”.

Following this brush with fame Ms Calment became something of a celebrity, and featured in the film, ‘Vincent and Me’ in 1990, making her the world’s oldest actress.

She also starred in a documentary, entitled ‘Beyond 120 Years with Jeanne Calment’, in 1995, before releasing an album a year later. ‘Time's Mistress’ involved her reminiscing to hip-hop and other musical genres.

A smoker until the age of 117, Ms Calment quit not on health grounds, but because her eyesight was so poor that she could not light her cigarettes herself, and was too embarrassed to ask others to light them for her.

On 17 October, 1995 , she became the Guinness ‘oldest person ever’ when she reached 120 years and 238 days, surpassing Shigechiyo Izumi of Japan .

A French institution in the years leading up to her death, she would spend every birthday fielding questions from reporters eager to learn the secret to her longevity.

Although confined to a wheelchair, Ms Calment remained talkative and received visitors until her 122nd birthday. It was then decided that her health had deteriorated sufficiently to warrant privacy. Indeed, it was said by Jean-Marie Robine that this “allowed her to die”, as the attention had kept her alive. She died five months later.