Staying Away From Toxic People: How World's Oldest Person Alive Made It To 115

The 115-year-old Maria Branyas Morera is the world's oldest person and woman alive as of January 2023. She lived through both World Wars and the 1918 flu pandemic. What's her secret to long life? It's a lot of positivity and staying away from toxic people.

Guinness World Records confirmed that the 115-year-old is the world's oldest person on January 19. Morera became the eldest known person alive after 118-year-old Lucille Randon passed away earlier this month.

Morera captured global headlines after she survive COVID-19 in May 2020 before the availability of vaccines. She was believed to be the oldest COVID-19 survivor at one point before Randon contracted the virus herself and survived.

She attributed her longevity to "order tranquillity, good connection with family and friends, contact with nature, emotional stability, no worries, no regrets, lots of positivity, and staying away from toxic people".

Suggested Reading: World's Oldest Person, French Nun Lucile Randon Dies At 118

Who Is Maria Branyas Morera?

• On March 4, 1907, Maria Branyas Morera was born in San Francisco, California after her parents emigrated to the country. Eight years later, they returned to Spain, where they settled in Catalonia.
• Morera has been living in Spain since then. For the past 22 years, Morera has been residing in the same nursing home, Residencia Santa Maria del Tura.
• Despite her advanced age, Morera is well-versed in digital technology and social media. She has a Twitter account and her account's bio reads, "I am old, very old, but not an idiot".
• She often takes to Twitter with her daughter's help and shares her life experience and advice on the platform.
• While Morera said that she attributed her longevity to "lots of positivity and staying away from toxic people", she also mentioned that she believes longevity is about "luck and good genetics".
• Maria Branyas Morera and her family arrived in Barcelona in 1915 during the First World War. That wasn't the only war she survived, she also lived through World War 2 and spoke about how she had "very bad memories" of the Spanish Civil War.
• Morera also survived the Spanish Flu pandemic and fought off COVID-19.
• She has three children, 11 grandchildren, and 13 great-grandchildren.