The New World’s Oldest Person is 114

Gertrude Baines, 114, is likely to become the new world’s oldest woman, Guinness World Records announced over the weekend. The Los Angeles woman was born April 6, 1894.

The title was previously held by Maria de Jesus, a Portugal native who recently passed away at age 115, and Edna Parker of Indiana, who also lived to be 115.

Baines was born to former slaves near Atlanta. She voted for President-elect Obama last year. “I'm glad to get a colored man in there, and so many people are,” she told the Los Angeles Times in November.

The former college maid has a fondness for hats, bacon, and Scripture. She is also an avid viewer of daytime television. “I watch all of them: The Price Is Right, Jerry Springer, all of them things. I love it. All of it,” Baines told the Los Angeles Times in April when she was named the world’s third-oldest person by the Gerontology Research Group. She also told the newspaper she never drank or smoked, gets regular exercise in her nursing home’s dining room, and goes to church services every Sunday. Said Baines: “I eat bacon, toast – I like all kinds of food. If it tastes good, I eat it. If it doesn’t taste good, I don’t eat it.”

Also check out these stories of centenarians who are still working here and here.