13th October 2021:  Guinness World Records™, the global authority on record-breaking, today announces that Turkey’s Rumeysa Gelgi, is the Tallest woman living standing at 215.16cm (7ft 0.7in).

Rumeysa first achieved a Guinness World Records title back in 2014, aged 17 when she was awarded the title for the Tallest teenager living (female). Her tall stature is down to a condition called Weaver syndrome, an extremely rare condition which causes accelerated growth amongst other abnormalities including skeletal maturation. Since achieving the Guinness World Records title back in 2014, Rumeysa has felt it was important to use her platform for advocacy reasons to educate others about rare medical conditions such as her own.  

Fast forward to 2021, aged 24, Rumeysa has been re-measured and confirmed as the Guinness World Records title holder for the tallest woman living. Proud and unique are the words she uses to describe the feeling of having a Guinness World Records title and she feels special being the only woman in the world who is as tall as she is. Rumeysa is mostly wheelchair bound but can walk using a walker and says that her height makes people intrigued when they pass her on the street, but most people are kind and supportive when they meet her for the first time. 

In her free time Rumeysa likes to go out for nice meals with her family and finds swimming really helps her to relax. Her family are very happy and proud of her for having the Guinness World Records title.

Her advice for anyone who is tall or who is struggling with feeling different is that “every disadvantage can be turned into an advantage for yourself so accept yourself for who you are, be aware of your potential and do your best”.

Craig Glenday, Editor in Chief at Guinness World Records said: “It's an honour to welcome Rumeysa back into the record books. Her indomitable spirit and pride at standing out from the crowd is an inspiration. The category of tallest living woman is not one that changes hands very often, so I'm excited to share this news with the world. And it's all the more fascinating that Rumeysa is from Turkey, which means that both our tallest living male and female record holders are from the same country - a rare occurrence in our 67-year history. The last time the two holders shared the same nationality was in 2009, when China's Bao Xi Shun (236.1 cm; 7 ft 8.95 in) and Yao Defen (233.3 cm (7 ft 7 in)) held the tallest man and woman records respectively.”

The previous record holder was Yao Defen (China) who recorded an average height of 233.3 cm (7 ft 7 in) when last documented back in 2010.

The title for the tallest man living currently belongs to Sultan Kosen (Turkey), who measured 251 cm (8 ft 2.8 in) on 8 February 2011.

The tallest woman ever to have lived was Zeng Jinlian (China) who was measured 246.3 cm (8 ft 1 in) when she died on 13 February 1982.