GIRLBOSS!

The Oldest Living Person in America Just Turned 115

Bessie Hendricks has simultaneously been alive for the sinking of the Titanic, 21 presidencies and the debuts of both Judy Garland and Olivia Rodrigo.

The oldest living person in the US just turned 115. Born a whopping 21 years before the debut of sliced bread, Bessie Hendricks has lived through 21 presidencies, the turn of the millennium and the rise and fall of broadcast TV. She’s even held on long enough to watch the downfall of Twitter. She celebrated her momentous birthday at Shady Oaks Care Center in Iowa Nov. 7, surrounded by her three children. “I don't know how you put it into words,” her 90-year-old daughter, Joan Schaffer, said. “It’s marvelous that we still have her.” Hendricks is the fourth oldest living person in the world, according to the Gerontology Research Group, the oldest being French nun Lucile Randon, who’s 118.