Maria Feliciana dos Santos, the World's Tallest Woman, Passes Away at 77

Maria Feliciana dos Santos, Brazilian, died at the age of 77. She was recognized as one of the tallest women in the world, with her height of 2.25 meters. A height, moreover, reached in her youth because as the years passed, she shrank. The information was confirmed on Saturday 27 by family members. Maria Feliciana had been hospitalized for a few days in a private hospital in Aracaju. Feliciana suffered from health problems in recent years, which compromised her mobility. In an interview with the Infonet Portal - granted in February 2020 - she remembered her story and especially the period of national fame when she was discovered as the tallest woman in Brazil - and in the world. For many years Maria Feliciana held the title of the world's tallest woman before shrinking with the passing years. The current tallest living woman in the world, the Turkish Rumeysa Gelgi, measures 2.15 meters but has never reached Maria Feliciana's absolute record. The Estado de Sergipe building, a 28-story skyscraper in Aracaju that was the tallest in the city when it was inaugurated in 1970, is popularly known as the Maria Feliciana building. The woman, who had been struggling with health problems for years, became a household name in her native country after an incredible growth spurt in her late teens. The Mayor of Aracaju, Edvaldo Nogueira (PDT), expressed his condolences for the death of the 'queen of height', as Feliciana was affectionately known. 'Maria Feliciana became famous throughout the country in the '60s, when her height of 2.25 meters made her a star on the Chacrinha program. I remember the first time I saw Maria Feliciana, I was still a child. It was in Pão de Açúcar, the city where I was born. Her presence aroused great interest,' wrote the mayor.