Jeanne Louise Calment is a name that is controversial. The woman who, at the age of 122 years and 164 days, became the oldest person in history, left this world more than two decades ago. However, the mysteries surrounding her life keep researchers busy to this day.

Jeanne was born in February 1875 in Arles, a small town in the south of France. She came from the bourgeois Kalman family, members of which were respected in local society.

Jeanne's father, Nicholas, was a shipbuilder and held a post in the city council, and mother Marguerite came from a family of millers. There were two children in the family: an older brother and sister who unfortunately did not survive childhood, and Jeanne herself was called Jeanne Gilles by her older relatives in honor of her aunt Jeanne.

From a young age, she lived surrounded by people who cared about her well-being. At the age of 21, Jeanne Calment married her third cousin Fernand Nicolas, a shopkeeper.

Family life allowed her not to work, but to devote her time to travel, sports, music and theatre. Jeanne enjoyed cycling, playing tennis and attending the opera.

On 19 January 1898, Nicole Marie Yvonne Kalman, Jeanne's daughter, was born.

She became the only child in the family. Together with her husband, daughter, mother-in-law and two servants, Jeanne lived in a small house for a long time, until she moved to St-Estiw Street in 1906. It was a time of change, but there were greater challenges ahead.

Yvonne married artillery captain Joseph Charles Frederic Billiot in 1926, and their son Frederic was born the same year. However, happiness was short-lived: Yvonne died of pneumonia in 1932, and her husband Fernand passed away 10 years later, poisoned by cherries.

Surviving both tragedies, the woman devoted her remaining years to caring for her grandson Frederick and his family. Frederick became a doctor, but his life tragically ended in 1963 in a car accident. Jeanne found herself all alone.

At the age of 90 Kalman concluded an unusual agreement with a lawyer François Raffre, who agreed to pay her 2.5 thousand francs each month for the fact that after her death, the flat passed to him.

Raffre considered the deal favorable, one thing he did not take into account: Jeanne outlived him. Instead of the three years he had expected, she lived another 32. When the lawyer himself passed away, the payment was continued by his widow.

Kalman celebrated her centenary modestly. At an event organized in her honor, former mayor Jacques Perrault recalled how surprised he was by her youth and vitality when he saw a woman who seemed younger than her years.

At 110, the woman was sent to a nursing home after she accidentally started a fire in the kitchen while preparing dinner. Despite such unpleasantness, Jeanne did not lose her sense of humor.

She was happy to share her habits: regular portions of wine, cigarettes and a kilo of chocolate a week - all these ‘harmful’ pleasures did not prevent her from living to an impressive 122 years.

Kalman was not shy about talking about her attitude to a healthy lifestyle. In an interview, she said that despite her rejection of many traditional health rules, her day began with gymnastics, which she did even at the age of 109.

Her passion for cycling and sport in general continued into old age.

In 1988, when Kalman was 113 years old, she was recognized as the oldest person on Earth, but lost the title to American Carrie White the following year.

After her death in 1991, Jeanne regained the title of the oldest person on the planet, which she held for the next six years, a record among long-lived people.

In 1995, a documentary film was made about her, and in 1996 a musical album ‘Maîtresse du temps’ was released, which featured Jeanne herself in rap compositions. Despite her advanced age, Kalman never lost her vividness of mind.

Even at 115, after falling down the stairs and breaking her hip, she remained alert. Neuropsychologist, who observed her condition, noted that Jeanne to the end of her life did not lose the ability to easily solve arithmetic problems and quote poetry.

Kalman passed away in 1997. At the time of her death, she remained a symbol of longevity, and for many - an example of fortitude and cheerfulness. French newspapers were filled with her obituaries, and President Jacques Chirac called her ‘the grandmother of all France’.

Her record of 122 years remains one of the most impressive in the history of mankind, and her life became a true chronicle of an entire era...

In 2018, Russian geriatrician Valery Novoselov, a scientist with thirty years of experience, expressed doubts about the authenticity of Jeanne's age. After studying numerous photos and videos, he claimed that in pictures taken when she was 110 years old, she looked no older than 90. He couldn't claim this for sure, having no access to biological samples, but his theory did stir the scientific community.

Later, mathematician Nicholas Zak, fascinated by the mystery, wrote a 26-page paper detailing the evidence for his theory.

According to him, in 1934, when Yvonne supposedly died, Jeanne's mother actually died, and her daughter continued to live under her mother's name. This was done to avoid paying inheritance tax, which could have ruined the family. Moreover, Zach noted that Frederic, Jeanne's grandson, often referred to his grandmother as ‘mamzanne,’ which could have been a hint of her true identity.

Zach also noticed the similarity between the photos of the young Yvonne and the elderly ‘Jeanne’ - they even matched the fibroma on her nose. At the same time, the pictures of the young Jeanne were drastically different, which further strengthened the suspicions of the researchers.

 An important point was also the fact that the results of cognitive tests that Jeanne underwent in the nursing home matched those of people aged 80-90 years old.

Jean-Marie Robin, director of research at the French National Institute of Health and Medical Research, harshly criticized Zak's theory.

In his opinion, the theory that Jeanne was not Jeanne at all, but her daughter Yvonne, is ‘shaky and laughable’. Robin argues that if the hoax were real, the whole town would have to support the lie. But that is simply not possible.

Zack, in turn, offered a different perspective on the situation. He recalled that Jeanne had spent her last years in the forests, keen on hunting, and that this passion had been passed on to her daughter. Women did not appear in society without taking part in social life.

As for the evidence that Robin was talking about, Zack pointed out an interesting detail: the old woman supposedly admitted that her housekeeper, Martha Fusson, had taken her to school. And although Fusson was ten years younger than Jeanne, she could have been Yvonne's mother and actually taken her to lessons.

Of course, only the exhumation of the bodies of mother and daughter could provide a final judgement. However, it appears that the French authorities will never take such a step.