World’s tallest and shortest woman meet for afternoon tea in London
Credit:X:@GWR
The world’s tallest and shortest woman have got together in London for a record-breaking tea afternoon.
Rumeysa Gelgi, a researcher and web developer from Turkey who stands at 2 metres and 15.16cm and Jyoti Amge, a 30-year-old actress from India, measuring a mere 62.8cm, met in London in celebration of The Guinness World Record Day, 2024.
The pair met at the swanky Savoy Hotel for tea, being honoured for their Guinness World Record legacies. They both featured in the latest 70th anniversary edition of the classic and all-time favourite records book. Craig Glenday, Guinness World Record editor-in-chief said: “The Guinness World Records icons are those record holders who truly embody the spirit of GWR. They come from all areas, from science and technology, sports and the arts and media, and are also those dedicated record holders who we see year after year.”
Tallest woman: “It was so amazing meeting Jyoti for the first time”
The tallest woman in the world, Gelgi, was born with an extremely rare condition known as Weaver syndrome. This means that sufferers show symptoms of accelerated growth, which causes skeletal deformities. She said: “It was so amazing meeting Jyoti for the first time. It was difficult for us to make eye contact at times due to our height difference, but it was great.” She added: “We do have things in common – we both love make-up, self-care, and doing our nails.”
Tiny actress, Amge: “I’m used to looking up and seeing people taller.”
On the other end of the scale, Amge has a form of dwarfism called achondroplasia. With a height of less than one metre and weighing around 5kg, she is nevertheless a renowned actress, having appeared in several films and shows including Ma Petite in the US hit TV series American Horror Story. Amge said: “I’m used to looking up and seeing people taller than me but I was so happy to look up today and see the world’s tallest woman.” She added: “I’m delighted that I’ve met Rumeysa, she is so good-natured, and I felt very comfortable talking to her.”
Gelgi spoke for both Amge and herself about how they aimed to spread awareness about respecting people regardless of their physical differences. Gelgi commented: “We are aiming to inspire people with visible differences to find the courage to show themselves. I want to make people see that being different is okay.”
Clenday also commented on how Guinness World Record celebrations and events like this one help to show the world the importance of celebrating differences. He said:”By bringing together these two amazing, iconic women, they can share their perspectives on life with each other and also with us.”
The tallest living person in the world is male: Sultan Kösen is a part-time farmer from Turkey with a height of 2m 46.5cm tall. The shortest living male is Afshin Esmaeil Ghaderzadeh, from Iran, measuring 65.24 cm tall.
Find other World articles
