--- title: 116-year-old Italian Woman Is Now The Oldest Living Person description: At 116, Emma Morano is now the oldest person in the world; she is also the only person whose life has been part of three centuries. canonical: https://time.com/4337417/new-oldest-person/ author: Cady Lang article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-05-16T18:33:45.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:47:42.229Z og:title: 116-year-old Woman Credits Eggs and Being Single For Long Life og:description: She's now the oldest person in the world. og:url: https://time.com/4337417/new-oldest-person/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7c4a1c5a186d06c9/698893523c1639777645d464/emma-morano-oldest-living-person.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2000 og:image:height: 1125 og:image:alt: TOPSHOT-ITALY-OLDEST-PERSON-MORANO og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: 116-year-old Woman Credits Eggs and Being Single For Long Life twitter:description: She's now the oldest person in the world. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7c4a1c5a186d06c9/698893523c1639777645d464/emma-morano-oldest-living-person.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 video:duration: 03:13 video:published: 2014-08-20 section: health topics: sex therapy, Masters and Johnson, sexual intimacy, orgasm, masturbation, casual sex, technology and relationships, lack of desire, sexual health history genre: interview, documentary tones: reflective, candid, warm, thoughtful emotions: nostalgia (medium), concern (medium), warmth (medium) sentiment: neutral audience: adults interested in relationships, readers of health and wellness content, people curious about sexual health, couples people: Shirley Zussman, Masters and Johnson products: iPhone content_suitability: sexual content [00:00-03:13] transcript_source: publisher captions transcript_reviewed: not applicable ---  # The Oldest Person In the World Attributes Her Long Life to Eating Eggs and Being Single > Sponsored content. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=7c4b04f7-ae07-497e-a14d-2e09ba576807&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1) ## Video: A 100-Year-Old Sex Therapist on Having Good Sex, Then and Now [Watch (HLS stream): A 100-Year-Old Sex Therapist on Having Good Sex, Then and Now](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/uJFYIrvP.m3u8) (3:13)  _Published 2014-08-20. A practicing sex therapist in New York City, Dr. Shirley Zussman has witnessed everything from the legalization of the contraceptive birth control pill to the AIDs epidemic in the 1980s to the rise of internet porn in the new millenium._ Description, summary, key points, chapters, key quotes, questions and transcript, where present, were produced automatically from the video or its captions and were not reviewed. ## Summary Sex therapist Shirley Zussman, who has recently turned 100, describes her career beginning with a 1966 lecture by Masters and Johnson and the training she sought afterward. She explains how patients' concerns, such as learning to reach orgasm, have changed over time. She then contrasts past casual sex with today's reduced physical connection, citing iPhones, and names lack of desire as the most common problem she sees now. ## Key points - Shirley Zussman says she has reached 100 years of age and is still a practicing sex therapist. (00:23) - Zussman and her husband attended a 1966 lecture in New Jersey given by Masters and Johnson, whose work was little known at the time. (00:32) - Zussman describes Masters and Johnson's work as showing that good sexual experience requires learning to be a good partner and enduring pleasure for each other. (01:05) - In the early days, women most often came to the clinic because they wanted to achieve orgasm but did not know how. (01:33) - Masters and Johnson offered a relatively simple approach: learn about your own body and what makes you feel good, including through masturbation. (01:51) - Zussman says casual sex in the 1960s was not just casual but frantic. (02:12) - Zussman says she is shocked at the lack of connection between people today, pointing to iPhones and reduced touching, talking, holding and looking. (02:21) - Zussman says the most common problem in her practice today is a lack of desire, and advises people to examine their priorities. (02:43) ## Chapters - [00:00 to 00:23] Intimacy beyond sexual pleasure. Zussman opens by saying partners want intimacy, closeness, understanding, comfort, fun and care beyond sex. - [00:23 to 01:05] Introduction and Masters and Johnson lecture. Zussman introduces herself and recounts attending a 1966 lecture by Masters and Johnson and the training that followed. - [01:05 to 01:51] Early patients and learning to be partners. Zussman describes the early clinic's patients, mostly women seeking orgasm, and the emphasis on partnership and self-knowledge. - [01:51 to 02:12] Learning about your body. Zussman explains the encouragement of self-exploration and masturbation to learn what feels good. - [02:12 to 02:43] Changes in casual sex and connection. Zussman compares casual sex in the 1960s with today and laments reduced physical connection. - [02:43 to 03:13] Lack of desire and priorities. Zussman identifies lack of desire as the most common problem and urges people to set priorities that fill a need for closeness. ## Key quotes - [00:00] Shirley Zussman: "They want intimacy, they want closeness, they want understanding, they want comfort, they want fun" - [01:05] Shirley Zussman: "One had to almost had to learn how to be a good partner and to endure the pleasure not only for yourself but for each other." - [02:21] Shirley Zussman: "I'm shocked at the lack of connection with people; because of iPhones, even I love my iPhone." - [02:43] Shirley Zussman: "the most common problem, I would say, in the sex therapy that I live in, is a lack of desire." - [03:03] Shirley Zussman: "to establish something that is gratifying that really fills a need that we all have to be close to somebody." ## Questions this video answers - What do people want from each other beyond sexual pleasure? [00:00] - How did Masters and Johnson's work first come to Shirley Zussman's attention? [00:23] - What did women most often seek help for when they first came to the clinic? [01:33] - How does Zussman describe casual sex in the 1960s compared with today? [02:12] - What is the most common problem Zussman sees in her sex therapy practice? [02:43] ## Content suitability - sexual content [00:00-03:13]: The video discusses sex, sexual pleasure, orgasm and masturbation in a clinical, non-explicit way.  by [Cady Lang](https://time.com/author/cady-lang/)  ## Cady Lang May 16, 2016 6:33 PM UTC  Emma Morano, 116, poses for AFP photographer in Verbania, North Italy, on May 14, 2016\. Emma Morano is the oldest living person in the world, and the only one left who has touched three centuries. (OLIVIER MORIN/AFP/Getty Images) Emma Morano, 116, poses for AFP photographer in Verbania, North Italy, on May 14, 2016\. Emma Morano is the oldest living person in the world, and the only one left who has touched three centuries. (OLIVIER MORIN/AFP/Getty Images) OLIVIER MORIN—AFP/Getty Images  by [Cady Lang](https://time.com/author/cady-lang/)  ## Cady Lang May 16, 2016 6:33 PM UTC Ask the [oldest living person in the world](http://time.com/4329257/new-world-oldest-person-italy-emma-morano/) — a tiny, 116-year-old Italian woman — what [the key to her longevity is](http://time.com/4138476/aging-alzheimers-disease/) and her response might surprise you. The [Guinness World Records](http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/news/2016/5/guinness-world-records-announces-emma-martina-luigia-morano-as-worlds-oldest-liv-428983) confirmed on Monday that Emma Morano of Verbania, Italy is [now the oldest living person](http://time.com/4329079/susannah-mushatt-jones-oldest-person-dies/) at 116 years and 169 days old. The spry supercentenarian was born on November 29, 1899, making her the only person whose life has touched three centuries. In a 2015 interview with the [New York ](http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/15/world/raw-eggs-and-no-husband-since-38-keep-her-young-at-115.html?%5Fr=2)[_Times_](http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/15/world/raw-eggs-and-no-husband-since-38-keep-her-young-at-115.html?%5Fr=2), Morano shared that she attributes her long life to eating three raw eggs a day — she has since gone down to two eggs a day — since she was in her teens (a doctor recommended it for anemia.) She also largely credits her impressive life span with being single. Although Morano had many “suitors” following the end of an unhappy marriage in 1938, she never remarried. “I didn’t want to be dominated by anyone,” Morano said. When Morano was told that she now held the title of oldest person alive, she told the [_Telegraph_](http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/05/13/the-secret-to-longevity-is-eating-two-raw-eggs-a-day-says-newly/) via her caretaker, Rosi Santoni, “My word, I’m as old as the hills.” ## Transcript [00:00] Sexual pleasure is only one part of what men and [00:03] women want from each other. They want intimacy, they [00:07] want closeness, they want understanding, they want [00:10] comfort, they want fun, and they want somebody who [00:14] really cares about them beyond going to bed with [00:16] them, and I think people are always seeking that. In [00:20] every generation. [ MUSIC ] [00:23] My name is Shirley Zussman. I just reached a hundred [00:27] years of age, and I am a practicing [00:32] sex therapist. I was invited with my husband [00:36] to a lecture in New Jersey, in 1966. Masters [00:41] and Johnson were the speakers. No body knew about [00:43] them. Human sexual response had just been [00:46] published, what I saw was a couple [00:51] who will say that people had problems in an area [00:55] in their lives that was very important and they were [00:58] recognizing that it was all not just. Glamorous and [01:01] wonderful to be sexual. One had to almost had to [01:05] learn how to be a good partner and to endure the [01:08] pleasure not only for yourself but for each other. And I [01:11] thought we can do that. Why can't we do that? And we [01:15] applied for training with Masters and Johnson at that [01:17] time. The patients that came to us were people who [01:21] read the paper. The only way they do anything about [01:25] the work that was being done there. And the problems [01:28] they came with, was somewhat different than the [01:30] problems they come with today. Mostly, women came [01:33] because would put out orgasmic, they didn't know how [01:36] to achieve an orgasm, but they wanted one. It [01:40] was so over that ,. Goal they had for themselves and [01:43] how do I get there. That was one Masters and [01:47] Johnson's contribution that there was a relatively [01:51] simple way to start learning about your body. In [01:55] other words, get, get to know your, who you are [01:58] sexually and physically and that was. And [02:03] encouragement for masturbation for learning what [02:06] makes you feel good. I [02:12] see a big change in the we view casual sex. [02:17] In the 60's I think it was not just casual it was frantic. [02:21] I'm shocked at the lack of connection with people; [02:25] because of iPhones, even I love my iPhone. There [02:30] is so much less actual physical connection, there's [02:34] less touching, there's less talking, there's less holding, [02:38] there's less looking, [ INAUDIBLE ]. People get pleasure [02:41] from looking at each other. But the most common [02:43] problem, I would say, in the sex therapy [02:49] that I live in, is a lack of desire. You have to look [02:53] at your priorities. You have to decide what is important [02:57] to make you feel good about yourself and your life. [02:59] And to help make your partner feel good and to [03:03] establish something that is gratifying that really fills [03:07] a need that we all have to be close to somebody. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4337417/new-oldest-person/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4337417/new-oldest-person/"},"headline":"The Oldest Person In the World Attributes Her Long Life to Eating Eggs and Being Single","datePublished":"2016-05-16T18:33:45.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T07:47:42.229Z","description":"As confirmed by the Guinness World Records","url":"https://time.com/4337417/new-oldest-person/","keywords":["Newsfeed","society","Aging"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7c4a1c5a186d06c9/698893523c1639777645d464/emma-morano-oldest-living-person.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Cady Lang","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/cady-lang/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7c4a1c5a186d06c9/698893523c1639777645d464/emma-morano-oldest-living-person.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"TOPSHOT-ITALY-OLDEST-PERSON-MORANO","caption":"TOPSHOT-ITALY-OLDEST-PERSON-MORANO","creditText":"OLIVIER MORIN—AFP/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4337417/new-oldest-person/","name":"The Oldest Person In the World Attributes Her Long Life to Eating Eggs and Being Single"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"A 100-Year-Old Sex Therapist on Having Good Sex, Then and Now","description":"A practicing sex therapist in New York City, Dr. Shirley Zussman has witnessed everything from the legalization of the contraceptive birth control pill to the AIDs epidemic in the 1980s to the rise of internet porn in the new millenium.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/uJFYIrvP/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2014-08-20T13:40:15.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/uJFYIrvP.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4337417/new-oldest-person/","duration":"PT3M13S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4337417/new-oldest-person/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```