Ethel Caterham becomes oldest person alive. What's her secret?
The Surrey resident's new title comes after the death of 116-year-old Sister Inah Canabarro Lucas. The Brazilian nun died on April 30, two months shy of her 117th birthday. Izabel Rosa Pereira, 114, is now Brazil's oldest resident.
In a 2020 BBC interview, Caterham said the secret to her longevity was "never arguing with anyone."
"I listen and I do what I like," she said.
During her 115th birthday in August, Caterham got a letter from King Charles III congratulating her on a "truly remarkable milestone" and sending her "warmest good wishes," BBC reported.
How old is the oldest person alive?
As of May 2, 2025, Ethel Caterham of Surrey, England is the oldest person alive at 115 years and 252 days old, according to LongeviQuest.
She was born in 1909 and is set to turn 116 on Aug. 21.
Who is Ethel Caterham?
Ethel Caterham is an English woman who currently holds the record as the oldest person alive at 115.
She was born in Shipton Bellinger in Hampshire and raised in Tidworth, Wiltshire as the second youngest of eight children, according to the Guardian. When she turned 18 she moved to British India to care for a military family for three years before returning back to England.
In 1931, she met her late husband, Lt. Col Norman Caterham, a senior officer in the Royal Army Pay Corps whom she married in 1933, the Guardian reported. The two were stationed in Gibraltar and later Hong Kong, where Caterham founded a nursery. Norman died in 1976.
Caterham lived in the county of Surrey for 50 years. She has three granddaughters and five great-grandchildren.
Who was Inah Canabarro Lucas?
Born in June 1908 in Sao Francisco de Assis, Rio Grande do Sul, Lucas was born frail, and many people thought she would not live long, according to LongeviQuest.
She began her life of faith at just 16 years old, attending Santa Teresa de Jesus boarding school in Santana do Livramento, and was baptized there on April 21, 1926. She later moved to Montevideo, Uruguay, where at 21 years old, she was confirmed in the Catholic Church in October 1929.
She was first named the world's oldest person in December 2024 after the death of 116-year-old Tomiko Itooka of Japan.
According to LongeviQuest, she has racked up quite a few titles throughout her life, and her previous titles include:
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