Celebrity Biographies
World’s Tallest Woman Alive: Rumeysa Gelgi
Who is Rumeysa Gelgi?
Rumeysa Gelgi, the tallest woman in the world, is a popular front-end web developer, activist, and public speaker. Gelgi has so many world records to her name and the star may bag even more in years to come.
Born in 1997, she was the world’s tallest teenager living as of 2014. At the moment, she is the world’s tallest woman living. Her most recent measurement shows that she is 215.16 cm (7ft 0.7in) tall.
READ: Afshin Esmaeil Ghaderzadeh: The World Shortest Man
How Gelgi Became the World’s Tallest Woman Alive at 25
Rumeysa Gelgi was born on January 1st, 1997 in Turkey. After her birth, she showed signs of Weaver Syndrome- a condition that would affect her all her life. Gelgi’s condition was diagnosed at the Hacettepe University, Pediatric Endocrinology Clinic after she was found to be oddly large for a newborn.
Gelgi’s childhood was characterized by surgeries, physiotherapy and other medical-related activities to ensure she has normal growth. As a result of these activities, she was home-schooled all her life but it’s difficult to tell, considering her great accomplishments.
The activist’s case was the first Weaver Syndrome situation ever recorded in her home country- Turkey. In the world, she is the 27th case to ever be recorded. She however did not gain global attention until 2014 when she became the world’s tallest teenager (female). At the time, she was 17 years old, standing at 213.6cm (7ft 0.09 in).
Having received the title during a presentation in Karabük, Turkey, Gelgi said: “It’s one of my biggest dreams to be awarded with this record… Being a record-holder is a very amazing thing. I know that only the special people can make it and I know I’m one of them now.”
It wasn’t until May 2021 that Gelgi received the Guinness record for the world’s tallest woman alive. Asides the aforementioned titles, she also received the following:
- Longest finger on a living person (female): 11.2 cm (4.40 in)
- Largest hands on a living person (female): her right hand measures 9.81 in (24.93 cm), while the left one measures 9.55 in (24.26 cm)
- Longest back on a living person (female): 59.90 cm (23.58 in)
The Side Effects of Gelgi’s Height
Despite holding the title of the world’s tallest woman alive, Rumeysa Gelgi’s height sure has some side effects as a result of her medical condition. Since she didn’t grow up like every normal child, Gelgi’s unique height has some complexities, some of which are listed below.
- Rumeysa Gelgi was not able to walk until she reached the age of 5. She was only able to do so after nine months of physiotherapy and with a walker. She said: “After 9 months of physiotherapy at 5 years old, I was able to walk for the first time with a walker”.
- In her early years, she suffered from ill health, growing at a very fast pace and becoming bigger than the average toddler.
- She had open heart surgery as a result of ASD+PDA problems from birth.
- She equally suffered from an umbilical hernia and spinal deformity, and she had surgery for both of them in her childhood.
- She was born with Scoliosis (a disease that causes a sideways curvature of the spine.
- Her skeletal structure and maturation developed abnormally, and her bones appeared weaker than normal.
- She has to walk with bespoke orthopaedical shoes.
- She can only walk with the aid of a walker, and that, for a short period of time.
- She was bullied for her height.
Despite the side effects of Weaver Syndrome, Gelgi’s medical condition is stable as a result of physiotherapy and regular swimming sessions to strengthen her muscle. She has since lent her voice to the world to speak about the condition.