You're reading: World’s tallest woman dies in China at age 39

BEIJING — The world's tallest woman has died in eastern China. She was 39.

Chinese state media say Yao Defen died on Nov. 13 at her home in China’s eastern province of Anhui.

Guinness
World Records in January 2010 had certified her as the world’s tallest
living woman at 7 feet and 7 inches (233.3 centimeters).

The local
Xin’an Evening News did not give the cause of death but said in a
report that Yao suffered from gigantism, with a tumor on her pituitary
gland disrupting her levels of growth hormone. A government official in
her county who gave only his surname, Liu, confirmed Yao’s death on
Wednesday.

The Xin’an newspaper said Yao learned to play
basketball when young, and that she was 6 feet and 7 inches (200
centimeters) tall by the age of 15.

In a Chinese-language video
from three years ago, Yao expressed anguish at her unusual height. “I am
very unhappy. Why am I this tall?” she said from her bed. “If I were
not this tall, others would not look at me like this.”