María Branyas Morera

María Branyas Morera on her 116th birthday

**María Branyas Morera** (born 4 March 1907) is an American-Spanish supercentenarian who is recognized by Guinness World Records as being the oldest validated living person in the world since the death of 118-year-old Lucile Randon of France on 17 January 2023. Her age is validated by LogeviQuest (LQ), Gerontology Research Group (GRG) and European Supercentenarian Organisation (ESO).

## Biography

María Branyas Morera was born in San Francisco, California, USA on 4 March 1907. Her family emigrated to San Francisco in 1906. They later traveled to New Orleans, from here they departed to Olot, Catalonia, Spain in 1915. While emigrating to Spain aboard the *Catalania*, Branyas Morera injured her eardrum in a fall, resulting in her permanently losing hearing in one ear. Towards the end of the voyage, Branyas Morera's father, Joseph Branyas Julia, died from pulmonary tuberculosis at the age of 37, leaving Branyas Morera's mother to raise the family of five on her own.

In 1931, Branyas Morera married her husband, Joan Moret. The couple had three children.

In 2000, when she was 93, Branyas Morera moved into a care home in Olot, where she currently resides. At the age of 110, she reportedly still read the newspaper every day. As of August 2019, she had 11 grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren.

Branyas Morera is deaf in one ear, and partially deaf in the other, with precautions taken at her nursing home. This made communication difficult, but using a voice-to-text device, her relatives are able to communicate fluently.

### COVID-19 Survival

In April 2020, at the age of 113, Branyas Morera tested positive for COVID-19, but successfully recovered. She was the oldest recorded survivor of the disease until Lucile Randon, then 116, of France recovered in 2021. In a subsequent interview with the *Observer*, Branyas Morera called for a revolution in treatment of the elderly, saying "This pandemic has revealed that older people are the forgotten ones of our society. They fought their whole lives, sacrificed time and their dreams for today's quality of life. They didn't deserve to leave the world in this way."

### Longevity Records

On 22 December 2019, Branyas Morera became the oldest known living person in Spain, following the death of Josefa Santos Gonzalez. She became the last known living person in Spain born in 1907, following the death of Virtudes Tomas Navarro on 20 April 2020.

She became the last person living in Spain born in the 1900s decade, following the death of Saturnino de la Fuente Garcia on 18 January 2022.

She became the oldest validated living American-born person, following the death of Thelma Sutcliffe on 17 January 2022, as well as the the oldest validated living person born in the Americas, following the death of Antonia da Santa Cruz on 23 January 2022.

She became the oldest validated living person in Europe and in the world, as well as the last known surviving European person born before 1909, following the death of Lucile Randon on 17 January 2023.

On 21 April 2023, Branyas Morera surpassed Ana Vela-Rubio's final age of 116 years, 47 days to become the oldest validated person ever to have resided in Spain. Vela-Rubio still holds the record for being the oldest validated person ever born in Spain.

## Gallery

María Branyas Morera (dressed in white) with her family in New Orleans in 1911María Branyas Morera (second from left) with her family in 1914María Branyas Morera (on the right) aged 15 in 1922María Branyas Morera with her husband in 1931María Branyas Morera in her 90'sMaría Branyas Morera on her 110th birthday in 2017María Branyas Morera on her 112th birthday in 2019María Branyas Morera on her 113th birthday in 2020María Branyas Morera on her 114th birthday in 2021María Branyas Morera on her 115th birthday in 2022María Branyas Morera on her 116th birthday in 2023
## References

* Maria Branyes, la persona més gran de la Garrotxa, compleix 110 anys Olot Televisio, 4 March 2017 (via The Wayback Machine)
* Maria Branyas es, con 112 años y 5 meses, la catalana de más edad El Periódico, 18 August 2019
* María Branyas, la anciana más longeva de España con 113 años, supera el coronavirus Mundo Deportivo, 11 May 2020
* Catalonia's Maria Branyas becomes oldest living person on Earth at 115 Catalan News, 17 January 2023
* Maria Branyas, la persona més gran del món, fa 116 anys Catalunya Ràdio, 4 March 2023
* World's oldest person, U.S.-born Spanish woman, turns 116 CBS News, 4 March 2023
* Los 4 consejos de María Branyas, la mujer más anciana del mundo, para llegar a los 116 años El Español, 19 April 2023