What if you could make history without having to do anything? Most people who achieve any level of celebrity have to at least do something. Like, remember the “hawk tuah” girl? We can talk about how weird her rise to fame was, but it didn’t just happen to her…she had to at least say something funny when someone prompted her.
However, all Rumeysa Gelgi had to do to become famous was be born. After all, she’s the Guinness World Record holder for the title of world’s tallest living woman. She was tall as a child and just kept growing, eventually towering over (quite literally) every other woman on the planet!
What’s her story, and just how did she end up a Guinness record holder in the first place? Keep reading to find out!
The Guinness World Record holder for the tallest living woman
It’s official: Rumeysa Gelgi is the tallest woman on the planet. But just how tall are we talking? At 7’0.7, Gelgi has the kind of height that would put entire WNBA teams to shame. You could say she’s automatically inspirational…after all, we have no choice but to look up (quite literally) whenever she’s talking!
Incidentally, the title “tallest living woman” is quite literal. There have been taller women in history whose height was recognized by Guinness, including Zeng Jinlian, a Chinese woman who stood eight feet tall. But she and other taller women died years ago, making Gelgi the tallest living woman as recognized by Guinness.
What makes her so tall?
Are you a tall person, or maybe just someone who has tall friends or family members? If so, you’ve probably heard this question before: “what makes you so tall?” In reality, tallness usually comes down to simple genetics, like having tall grandparents. In the case of Rumeysa Gelgi, genetics are also the answer, but only because of a rare medical condition.
When Gelgi was born on January 1, 1997, she immediately displayed signs of Weaver syndrome, a genetic mutation that can manifest when a child is born or even when they are still in their mother’s belly. There are many symptoms of Weaver syndrome, including having a bigger head and crying with a hoarse voice as an infant.
The most visually obvious sign of this syndrome is, of course, being very tall. And even without an official diagnosis, Gelgi and her family almost immediately knew that something was very special about this young girl and her crazy height!
Towering over other children when she was younger
Remember when we said that Rumeysa Gelgi and her family knew their daughter was special almost right away? This may give you a better idea of what we mean: at the tender age of six, Gelgi towered over the other children. And that’s because she was a whopping 5’8”!
For context, the average height of an adult woman in America right now is 5’3.5.” So at the age of six, Gelgi wasn’t just taller than other kids her age…she was also taller than most of those kids’ mothers and most of her own female teachers. And she just kept growing from there, to the point that she eventually needed to get special surgery that was intended to help save her life!
Supporting parents and a life-changing surgery
Sadly, Rumeysa Gelgi’s early life was filled with surgical procedures. This is because she also suffered from conditions like scoliosis that needed medical intervention. She also needed to take months to complete physical therapy after each scoliosis surgery. Fortunately, she had very supportive parents: as the world’s tallest woman told Newsner, “My parents never treated me as different, but rather as special, and their approach helped shape my outlook on life.”
All of this culminated with a major surgery that she received in the early aughts. The goal of the surgery was to control the physical growth she experienced due to Weaver syndrome. She admitted that this surgery was an “experimental treatment” and that nobody “could predict what the outcome would be.” Nonetheless, it was necessary because “without it, my rapid growth could have reached life-threatening levels.”
Fortunately, the surgery was a success and halted her growth. But not before she became the tallest woman in the world!
How she got into the record books
Now you know plenty about Rumeysa Gelgi, the world’s tallest living woman as verified by the Guinness Book of World Records. However, you may be wondering how she ended up in Guinness in the first place. As it turns out, this all started when she read about a woman identified by Guinness as the tallest living female teenager.
She realized that she was taller than this woman and could easily take her title. And that’s what she did, applying for and ultimately receiving the other woman’s title. As she got older, Gelgi officially became the world’s tallest living woman while racking up several other Guinness titles. In this way, she achieved fame and made history, and all she had to do was be born tall and just keep growing.
Not a bad gig, all things considered!