It's likely that the women that you run into in your day to day life are pretty normal in appearance. Sure, they may range from strikingly beautiful, to average, to ugly, but overall they are just people, so when you see someone whose appearance differs from what you expect it to be, it can be kind of a shock.
I'm not talking about a woman with red hair, freckles, or a birthmark. I'm talking about the type of woman who belongs in the Guinness Book for World Records. You know these women when you see them, and you're about to see fifty of them right now. Aren't you so lucky?
The ladies in the following slideshow are definitely far from average. Some of these women are heroic and have accomplished impossible feats with disabilities, while others have spent thousands of dollars on plastic surgery, tattoos, or body piercings. You will be absolutely stunned when you see #44 on this list!
It's official, this real-life anime trend has gotten completely out of hand. Hardly a day goes by that we don't stumble upon some photos of girls going to any lengths in order to look like real live anime characters. Today's example, Anastasiya Shpagina, an Ukrainian girl who has even taken a Japanese name - Fukkacumi. 19-year-old Anastasiya (Nastya) Shpagina has been called "the new Barbie" by national news outlets, but she later revealed she's striving to become a real-life Japanese anime character, not a doll. She even posted "I am not like a doll, a doll is like me."
Apparently, Nastya has been passionate about makeup even as a young child, always experimenting with it in the mirror. Over time she also developed a thing for Japanese cartoons and it was only a matter of time before she started using her make-up artist skills to transform herself into a real-life anime girl. But just putting on makeup wasn't enough to attain that coveted look, so she decided to lose weight in order to seem more genuine. At 1.58-meters-tall, Anastasiya weighs just 39 kilos and is trying to lose one more in order to look just right.
The longest fingernails in the world today belong to Christine Walton from Las Vegas, Nevada, USA. Originally measured as the new record holder in February 2011, Walton's nails at that time measured a combined 6.019 m (19 ft 1 in). After getting measured again in 2013, Walton's nails had grown to a combined 7.314 m (23 ft 11 in). The 45 year-old, who is also a talented singer going by the stage name "The Dutchess," hasn't cut her fingernails since 1990.
"I never made a conscious decision to grow the nails, but with all my children and the music commitments I guess it was easier to let the nails grow. Then one day I look down and they're like 9 inches long!" Walton insists the nails don't prevent her from living a normal life; she can still braid hair, cook and drive. To add some perspective, the length of The Dutchess' fingernails are the equivalent of: One killer whale, two mini coopers, five average adult arm spans, a president's nose on Mount Rushmore, the entire length of the average 12-year-old boy's intestines.
Bethany Meilani Hamilton-Dirks is an American professional surfer who survived a 2003 shark attack in which her left arm was bitten off, but ultimately returned to-and was victorious in-professional surfing. On October 31, 2003 Hamilton, aged 13 at the time, went for a morning surf along Tunnels Beach, Kauai, with best friend Alana Blanchard, Alana's father, Holt, and brother Byron. Around 7:30 a.m., with numerous turtles in the area, she was lying on her surfboard with her left arm dangling in the water, when a 14-foot tiger shark attacked her, severing her left arm just below the shoulder.
Despite the trauma of the incident, Hamilton was determined to return to surfing. Three weeks after the incident, she returned to her board. Initially, she adopted a custom-made board that was longer and slightly thicker than standard and had a handle for her right arm, making it easier to paddle, and she learned to kick more to make up for the loss of her left arm. After teaching herself to surf with one arm, on January 10, 2004, she entered a major competition. She now uses standard competitive performance short-boards. The broken surfboard that Hamilton was riding during the attack is on display at the California Surf Museum
The widest female tongue measures 7.33 cm (2.89 in) at its widest point and belongs to Emily Schlenker, as measured in Syracuse, New York, USA, on 2 November 2014. The record holder for the widest tongue (male) is Emily's dad Byron Schlenker. Amazingly Byron and Emily discovered their tonguey talents quite by accident, when Emily took a copy of the Guinness Book of World Records out of the library for a school project, and Byron instinctively turned to the page featuring the man who at that time held the record for world's widest tongue.
But while dad has been happy to embrace the celebrity, 14-year-old Emily was initially less keen to enter the limelight. She explained: "I had to think about submitting for the record for a while, but after seeing how much fun my dad has had with it, I decided I would do it." She went on: "After all, how many people have an opportunity to be in the Guinness Book of World Records?"
Mikel Ruffinelli (born 1972) is an American woman who currently holds the record of widest hips in the world, according to the World Record Academy. Her weight is more than 420 pounds (190 kg) and her hips measures an unusual 8 feet (2.4 m) in circumference, although her waist is only 3 feet 4 inches (102 cm). She is 5 feet 4 inches tall.
Mikel was a normal-sized young woman and in her early 20s weighed an above average 180 pounds. But at 22, she put on 56 pounds after having first child Andrew. After daughters Destynee, Autumn, and Justyce, followed, her weight and hips ballooned further. She eats an average 5,000 calories a day. Possibly this extraordinary fat tissue accumulation turns out to be an advanced stage of a medical condition called Lipedema.
A woman desperate to look like Jessica Rabbit has won the dubious honour of being in possession of the world's biggest lips after having 100 silicone injections. Kristina Rei, 22, was convinced her thin lips made her ugly so she opted to have them enlarged in the style of her favorite cartoon character, at a cost of more than £4,000. She said: "I think I look fantastic and it makes me happy. Sometimes strangers shout names at me in the street - like big lips - but I don't care. "
At school Kristina was bullied because of her looks. She said: "My classmates called me "ugly". They didn't tease me because of my lips specifically - but I believed big, full lips would make me beautiful. My big lips have helped boost my confidence. Even my parents are happy for me. They really don't care about my appearance. Some of my friends have told me I shouldn't go any bigger but I'm not satisfied yet."
Lyudmila Titchenkova is a 16-year-old living in the city of Nikolaev, Ukraine. After she turned 10, Lyudmila's parents noticed that their daughter's body began developing at an accelerated growth rate. She was taller and had longer arms than other children her age, but of particular concern was the length of her neck and abnormal curvature of her spine.
As it got to the point where Lyudmila began feeling embarrassed to go out because of her appearance, her parents took her to the hospital, where she was diagnosed with Marfan Syndrome, a rare genetic disorder of the connective tissue that can affect many parts of the body, most often the heart, blood vessels, bones, joints and eyes. In Lyudmila's case, the disorder affected the connective tissue in her spine, causing it to curve at an angle of 30 degrees. This seems to be a rather uncommon symptom of the disorder, which usually affect people's arms, legs and fingers. After undergoing corrective surgery and extensive rehabilitation to straighten her spine, Lyudmila can now live normally and says she wants to study for her future without letting herself be affected by her disorder.
Russian-born former gymnast Zlata, 29, posed in leather and lingerie to adopt a series of poses that seem to defy every law of biology. Zlata, who now lives in Germany, is able to create astounding shapes with her body and is so flexible she can cram herself into a 50cm square box. One of her favorite acts is to bend backwards at a 90 degree angle, so the back half of her hands touch her feet and she can also peer through her own legs from behind.
Zlata's gift of flexibility was discovered when she was four years old and by six she was training as a contortionist at a circus school. She has a rare condition which makes all her tendons extremely pliable, which helps in her profession. The former gymnast now spends most of her day working out and training for shows around the world. In 2011 she set the Guinness World Record for the most beer bottles opened in a minute using only your feet.
Valeria Valeryevna Lukyanova is a Moldovan-born Ukrainian model and entertainer, notable for her resemblance to a Barbie doll, with several sources describing her as, among other handles, a "real-life Barbie doll" and "human Barbie". To enhance the effect Lukyanova uses makeup and contact lenses over her naturally green eyes. She has stated that she has had breast implants, but that the rest of her body is completely natural and slender due to daily gym workouts and a special diet.
She asserts that her slender figure is a result of a good diet involving small amounts of raw fish and fresh fruit juice, and a punishing exercise regimen. It's no wonder that Lukyanova has drawn comparisons to Mattel's iconic figurine - but she insists she finds this insulting. Lukyanova does not drink or smoke, and claims that she is working towards a state of being which will be able to survive on no food at all.
Natalia Partyka (born 27 July 1989) is a Polish table tennis player. Born without a right hand and forearm, she participates in competitions for able-bodied athletes as well as in competitions for athletes with disabilities. Partyka reached the last 32 of the London 2012 Olympic women's table tennis. Partyka began playing table tennis at the age of seven. She won her first international table tennis medal in 1999 at the disabled World Championships. At the age of 11, she competed at the 2000 Summer Paralympics in Sydney, becoming the world's youngest ever Paralympian. In 2004, she won a gold medal in the singles event and silver in the team event at the Athens Paralympics.
Partyka competed for Poland both the 2008 Summer Olympics and the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing - one of only two athletes to do so, the other being Natalie du Toit in swimming. They were her third Paralympic Games, and her first Olympics. Competing in class 10 at the Beijing Paralympics, she won gold by defeating China's Fan Lei by three sets to nil. In 2008, she won a gold medal in the singles event and a silver in the team event at the Beijing Paralympics, repeating her Athens Paralympics result.
Her nicknames may include "wolf girl" and "monkey face". But 11-year-old Thai girl Supatra Sasuphan today insisted that she was after being officially recognised as the world's hairiest girl. Although the schoolgirl from Bangkok has faced merciless teasing at school, Supatra says being given a Guinness World Record for her hair has helped her become extremely popular. "I'm very happy to be in the Guinness World Records! A lot of people have to do a lot to get in," she said. "All I did was answer a few questions and then they gave it to me."
Supatra is one of just 50 known sufferers of Ambras Syndrome - caused by a faulty chromosome - to be documented since the Middle Ages. Before the disease was understood, sufferers were branded "werewolves." She has thick hair growing over her face, ears, arms, legs and back. Even laser treatment has failed to stop the hair growth. But while most sufferers have been shunned, Supatra has gradually been embraced by her community, and became a popular and outgoing child.
Natasha Veruschka has the world record for most swords swallowed simultaneously by a female. She swallowed 13 swords, each at least 38.1 cm (15 in) long, at the 3rd Annual Sideshow Gathering and Sword Swallowers Convention in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, USA, on 3 September 2004. Natasha was born in India of white russian and british heritage. She has lived, studied, and performed her art around the world and also speaks several different languages.
Natasha now lives in New York City. She is an amazing performer who uses many different types of swords in her act or as she likes to say "Swords On The Menu." The swords on the menu are - "The Red devil" 29 inches long, "The Big Sword" 27 1/2 inches long, "The Bradshaw Sword" 25 inches long, "The Sai Weapons" two 24 inch long eight-sided weapons of steel. Natasha trained with a "Sai Master" in order to use them in her act. Also on the menu is the unbelieveable "Sword Sandwich" where she swallows 13-22 inch long swords simultaneously.
Wheelchair racer Tatyana McFadden of Clarksville was named Paralympic Female Athlete of the Year. McFadden captured her third straight marathon grand slam, won her first marathon world title and set three T54 world records this year. McFadden broke the New York City Marathon's women's wheelchair course record by 7 minutes, 20 seconds with a time of 1 hour, 43 minutes, 4 seconds.
McFadden was born in Leningrad, then Soviet Union, on 21 April 1989. She was born with spina bifida, a congenital disorder that paralyzed her from the waist down. After her birth mother abandoned her in an orphanage that was too poor to afford a wheelchair for her, she walked on her hands for the first six years of her life. The doctors told her she was so sick that she had very little time to live. While in the orphanage, she met Deborah McFadden, who was visiting Russia as a commissioner of disabilities for the U.S. Health Department. Deborah, a single mother, adopted Tatyana and took her to live in Baltimore.
Abigail Loraine "Abby" Hensel and Brittany Lee Hensel (born March 7, 1990) are dicephalic parapagus twins, meaning that they are conjoined twins, each of whom has a separate head, but whose bodies are joined. They are highly symmetric for conjoined twins, giving the appearance of having just a single body without marked variation from normal proportion. In fact, several vital organs are doubled up; each twin has a separate heart, stomach, spine, lungs, and spinal cord.
In conversation, the twins are clearly distinct persons, with distinct likes and dislikes. Their preferences in food, clothing color, etc., differ. Some of their clothes are altered by their seamstress so that they have two separate necklines in order to emphasize their individuality. They will usually have separate meals, but sometimes will share a single meal for the sake of convenience (e.g. each taking a bite of the same hamburger). Abby is better at mathematics, and Brittany is better at writing. For tasks such as responding to email, they type and respond as one, anticipating each other's feelings with little verbal communication between them.
The oldest female acrobatic salsa dancer is Sarah Paddy Jones (UK, born 1 July 1934) who won the first prize on the Spanish TV talent show "Tu Si Que Vales" in December 2009. Paddy was born in Stourbridge, England. She started dancing classical dance when she was 2 years old and at the age of fifteen began taking classes in more disciplines. However, she left dancing at the age of 22 when she married her husband, David. They moved to Gandia, Spain in 2001 when her husband retired, but David died of leukaemia just two years later.
After the death of her husband, Paddy decided to take flamenco classes at Nicolás "Nico" Espinosa's academy of dance, where she learned to dance salsa and formed the salsa dancing duo "Son del Timbal" with Nico (who is 40 years younger than her). In 2014, Paddy and Nico competed in the eighth series of Britain's Got Talent, where they finished ninth overall.
Elaine Davidson is the "Most Pierced Woman" according to the Guinness World Records. Since first receiving a skin piercing in January 1997, Elaine Davidson has been pierced a total of 4,225 times as of 8 June 2006. The former restaurant owner is constantly adding and replacing jewelery, mostly in her face. She enhances her exotic looks with tattoos and brightly coloured make-up, and often wears feathers and streamers in her hair.
She has more piercings in her genitalia than in any other part of the body - 500 in all, externally and internally. The total weight of her internal piercings is estimated to be about 3 kilograms. As of May 2008, Davidson's piercings total 5,920. As of Feb. 2009 her piercings total 6,005. In March 2010, Davidson reported a total of 6,725 piercings. As of March 2012, she has over 9,000. As of may 2016, she has 9,800. She was born in Brazil and is a former nurse. She does not drink or use drugs. She now resides in Edinburgh, Scotland.
Jyoti Amge (born 16 December 1993) is an Indian actress notable for being the world's smallest living woman according to Guinness World Records. Jyoti Amg hails from Nagpur, India. She weighs 11 pounds and stands at 23 inches, according to Guinness World Records. Jyoti Amg has a "form of dwarfism called achondroplasia," Guinness says.
On her fame, Jyoti Amg says, "I don't like it if I am being held like a baby," but that she will let some people and fans pick her up. She also gets "mad when someone annoys me by touching my hair or keeps touching me without permission." "I love acting in this show," she says. "My biggest dream is that I go to Hollywood and become an actress." We hope her dreams come true!
With the longest hair in her beard measuring 11 inches - 27.9 cm., Vivian Wheeler of Illinois is blessed with having the longest beard for a female. Her father insisted she start shaving at the age of 7, but since 1993 Vivian Wheeler has not, letting her beard grow. She said "I am in the Guinness Book of World Records and people tell me I am famous, that it's a history book but it doesn't comprehend in my head. I hope it never does because I don't want to be that kind of person that they think I could be or should be."
Wheeler has a medical condition called hermaphroditism. Meaning, she is 50 percent male and 50 percent female. She said she was born with facial hair but when she was about five that facial hair began to grow darker. When that happened, her father couldn't even look at her and sold her into a life on the road with the Ringling Brother's Circus. It's a life she said may seem bizarre to others but one that has a special purpose.
The largest afro measures 18.5 cm (7.3 in) high, 19.6 cm (7.7 in) wide and 132.1 cm (4 ft 4 in) in circumference and was achieved by Aevin Dugas, in New Orleans, USA on 4 October 2010. Proud of her record-breaking afro, Aevin Dugas says her hair is inspiring legions of women to ditch chemical straighteners and "go natural". The 37-year-old, whose hair entered the Guinness Book of Records at 4ft 4ins around, says everyone from toddlers to grandmothers are following in her footsteps.
Aevin said: "At one time I strived to get hair that was bone straight and now all I want is it big and poofy". She believes her voluminous hair may have grown even bigger, but she cannot reveal its size until Guinness take an official measurement. "When my hair is stretched out to its complete length and pressed, it goes down to my butt. But I don't wear it like that because it looks weird."
Aimee Mullins (born July 20, 1976 in Allentown, Pennsylvania) is an American athlete, actress, and fashion model who first became famous for her athletic accomplishments. She was born with a medical condition that resulted in the amputation of both of her lower legs. Mullins was born with fibular hemimelia (missing fibula bones) and as a result, had both of her legs amputated below knee when she was one year old. A graduate of Parkland High School in Allentown and Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., she took up sports and acting at an early stage.
As a young softball player, she once held the youth league record for stolen bases in softball. She also raced in downhill skiing while in high school. While attending Georgetown University on a full academic scholarship to the prestigious School of Foreign Service there, she competed against able-bodied athletes in NCAA Division I track and field events, and is the first amputee in history, male or female, to compete in the NCAA. Honoring her achievement and cultural contribution to sport, Mullins is included as one of the "Greatest Women of the 20th Century" in the Women's Museum in Dallas, Texas.
Julia Gnuse, commonly known by the nickname "The Illustrated Lady," born in 1959, has 95% of her body (including her face) covered in tattoos and holds the Guinness Record for being the most tattooed woman in the world. In her mid 30s, Gnuse developed porphyria, a condition in which sunlight results in blistering of the skin. As the blisters often result in scarring, she began getting tattoos as a way to cover up the scars, which can get as deep as third degree burns. A friend of Gnuse's who was a plastic surgeon had suggested she get her skin tattooed in a pale skin tone color, similar to the color of her scars. This was attempted but didn't turn out the way they had hoped.
The tattoos do not prevent the skin from blistering as they are purely aesthetic. Instead she decided to try colorful tattoos, consisting of a variety of themes including: her favorite cartoons, her favorite actors and even a self portrait. Gnuse has appeared on the tv show Ripley's Believe it or Not. She also had a small role in Aerosmith's music video for their song Pink.
The longest female tongue measures 9.75 cm (3.8 in) from the tip to the middle of lip and was achieved by Chanel Tappe on 29 September 2010. Chanel, from Houston, US, shot to fame aged 13 when she was spotted sticking out her monster tongue in a YouTube video. In September Guinness invited Chanel to Los Angeles where they measured her tongue and she narrowly beat two other female contenders to the record.
She said: "I have always been silly and goofy. I love sticking my tongue out at people. I started doing that back in school. I've never had a problem with having a long tongue, it's just fun." Chanel now has set her sights set on Hollywood after finishing her studies. She said: "I'd love to be in a movie. I'm certainly pretty dramatic, so I think I could have the acting gift. "Really, I'd love to meet Adam Sandler, he's my favorite."
Stephanie Jallen was born with CHILD syndrome, Congenital Hemidysplasia with Ichthyosis and Limb Defects Syndrome. This meant that Jallen's left leg had to be amputated, her left side is under-developed, and she suffers from rashes.
Her nickname, Hopper, comes from the fact that when her prosthetic limbs weren't being worn, she had to hop. Jallen has always been active and learned to play soccer with her friends. She does have a crutch but she uses it mainly for balance and is happy to stand or move around on her leg. In an interview she said that she would not want to have her limbs back to normal as that would just make her "boring".
At her debut Paralympics, the 2014 Winter Paralympics in Sochi, Jallen competed for Team USA in three events: the Super-G, the slalom, and the super combined (Jallen is competing in standing in all events). She was the second-youngest member of the national team. She came third in the Super-G, finishing 5.94 seconds behind Marie Bochet; also finishing behind Solène Jambaque, both of France. Jallen came third in the super combined with a time of 1:25.15 seconds, 4.74 seconds behind Bochet, who won.
Guinness World Records confirmed that Ms. Emma Martina Luigia Morano of Vercelli, Italy, is now the world's Oldest living person. Born on 29 November 1899, Ms. Morano is 116 years old, as of May 2016. Ms. Morano is believed to be the last person living born in the 19th century. Raised in Vercelli, she moved to Verbania on the shores of Lake Maggiore, Italy. She married in 1926 and has lived there, in the same small apartment, ever since. She loves her home, her collection of watches and her big bed.
Emma married in 1926 and gave birth to a child who tragically passed away when he was only 6 months old. It was a loss of unimaginable pain for Emma. Her marriage was not working and in 1938, she took the difficult decision to leave her husband, and did not marry again. Extraordinarily, Emma followed the same diet for around 90 years - three eggs per day (two raw, one cooked), fresh Italian pasta and a dish of raw meat.
Erika Ervin known professionally as Amazon Eve, is an American transgender model, fitness trainer, and actress. She has appeared on the cover of Australian magazine Zoo Weekly and played a recurring character on American Horror Story: Freak Show. At 6 feet 8 inches (2.03 m) tall, news stories have called her "the world's tallest model".
Ervin ventured to obtain roles as an actress but gave up on the idea when she was constantly offered roles as an alien or monster. Later she studied law and exercise physiology. Tired of the office life that she had pursued and unhappy with her weight, she joined a gym but strived for an unrealistic size 0 physique that almost resulted in ending her life. Eventually she developed a healthier body image and began to view herself as a super-sized version of Super Woman and became a personal trainer devoted to instilling realistic expectations for herself and her clients. She tours the world participating in height comparison photo shoots and regular modeling jobs and posts her tour on her website.
Becca Meyers, 20, who attends Franklin & Marshall, was born deaf and was diagnosed with Usher syndrome, a genetic disorder that causes gradual balance and vision loss. She broke a world record in swimming and won the ESPY Award for the Best Female Athlete with a Disability. In 2014, Meyers set two world records (400 freestyle and 200 IM) and earned six medals (four gold, two silver) at the Pan Pacific Para-Swimming Championships.
"It's amazing how being nominated and winning for Paralympics brings a lot of awareness to the sport [of swimming]," she said. "That's one of the reasons I do this is to raise awareness and give back. If you asked me five years ago, I wouldn't have believed I'd be in this position [to win an ESPY and give back]. It's a roller coaster and I'm still on the ride enjoying it."
Melissa Stockwell is an American two-time Paralympian and former U.S. Army officer. Competing in the 2008 Summer Paralympics in three Paralympic Swimming events, she returned to race in the 2016 Paralympic Games and won a Bronze medal in the inaugural Paratriathlon event on September 11, 2016. A first lieutenant, she was the first female soldier to lose a limb in the Iraq War. She lost her left leg when a roadside bomb exploded when she was leading a convoy in Baghdad. For her service in Iraq she was awarded the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart.
She subsequently became the first Iraq veteran chosen for the Paralympics. She competed in three swimming events, the 100 m butterfly, 100 m freestyle, and 400 m freestyle, at the 2008 Summer Paralympics, and finished sixth, fifth, and fourth in her heats, respectively. She was the U.S. team's flag bearer at the closing ceremonies.
Aneta Florczyk began her strength sports career when she was young. At 16 years old she began competing in powerlifting, where she quickly found success. At 19 years old she was the junior Polish champion in the bench press. She repeated this feat again at 23, as well as becoming the junior European record holder in the deadlift. She found further success winning gold in the Polish Cup and getting the Polish record in the 82.5kg class with a total of over 500kg. She has deadlifted 250kg (550lb) for a single repetition and 220kg (485lb) for 6 reps.
Here she transitioned from the world of powerlifting to strongwoman, where her greatest victories would be found. She first competed in strongwoman in 2002. Shortly afterwards she entered the 2003 World's Strongest Woman competition and shockingly took first place. She won 3 more times consecutively in 2005, 2006 and 2008 (the competition was unfortunately not held in 2004, 2007, 2009 or 2010) to total 4 World's Strongest Woman records.
Identical twins Ann and Claire Recht born in the United States of America on February 9th 1988, were measured both horizontally and vertically, three times during 10 January 2007 in Oregon, USA and found to have an average overall height of 2.01 m (6 ft 7 in) and 2.01 m (6 ft 7 in) respectively. They hold the Guinness World Record for Tallest Female Twins . The American twin sisters are volleyball players.
Claire and Ann measured 22 inches at birth, and as toddlers their pediatrician predicted they'd grow well past 6 feet. They were a head taller than preschool classmates. By midway through elementary school, they were complaining about the lack of "fun colors" in their women's-size shoes and looking their teacher in the eye. Soon, adults told them they looked too old for trick-or-treating. By middle school, they were struggling to find khakis for their school uniforms.
Berliner Michele Kobke, 24, has worn a corset continuously for three years, dropping nine inches off her waistline in her quest for a slim, hourglass figure. Kobke tells the Daily News she started with a waist of about 25 inches. Her three years of wearing a corset, which she wears eating, sleeping and even swimming, has left her with a 16- or 17- inch waist. "My dream waist is 15 inches," she said.
Even as she closes in on her "dream" waist, Kobke admits there are health concerns with such a passion. A doctor already diagnosed her with some muscle atrophy from wearing the fashion piece 24 hours a day. But aside even from the medical risks, Kobke has had a falling out with family members, who disagree with the extreme measures she takes for beauty.
50-year-old Asha Zulu Mandela started growing her lovely dreadlocks 25 years ago, after moving from Trinidad Tobago to New York. Today she is known as "The Black Rapunzel" and holds the record for the world's longest locks, which measure 19 feet, 6 inches long. Eight years after she started growing her locks, Asha had a series of medical problems, including 13 surgeries, two mild heart-attacks and two mild strokes, so she spent 14 years in and out of hospitals.
Asha says that after 25 years of growing her hair naturally, cutting it would be like taking away her life. Still, her pride and joy can be a little problematic at times. She uses six bottles of shampoo at a time, and the hair needs to days to dry. When wet, the locks weigh 25 pounds, which puts an extra strain on her neck. Doctors have told her she has a curvature of the spine, most likely caused by the extra weight of her incredibly-long hair.
An Iowa mother who weighs 765lb is trying to get on a reality TV show because she believes it is the only way to save her life. Charity Pierce finds moving around so difficult that she is almost house bound, but doctors near her Cedar Rapids home say she must slim down to 500lb before they can give her a gastric band. Because Ms Pierce, who is the fattest woman in the world, has developed a medical condition called lymphedema, which has caused a huge swelling on her left leg, she no longer fits easily into a regular car.
"The one thing that's going to save my life is gastric bypass. But I'm a single mother on disability with no one to count on besides myself," she added. She hopes to be able to lose enough weight to be able to watch her daughter grow up, and also so she can have a dream wedding to her 22-year-old boyfriend, Tony Sauer.
Mandy Sellars (born 20 February 1975 in Lancashire, United Kingdom) is a woman with a rare genetic mutation that has resulted in extraordinary growth in both of her legs. In 2006, some doctors diagnosed Sellars as having Proteus syndrome, a very rare condition thought to afflict only 120 people worldwide, but Sellars herself has disputed the diagnosis. Sellars' condition has been covered in several television programs, leading Sellars to jokingly describe herself as a "part-time TV star".
Sellars was born with abnormally large and misshapen legs and feet, which continued to grow at a disproportionate rate. Doctors were unable to provide a diagnosis for many years, until some doctors decided on Proteus syndrome in May 2006, though Sellar's condition is atypical in many respects. The most famous person with Proteus syndrome may be Joseph Merrick, the "Elephant Man". There is no known cure.
There's really no other way to put this so we're just going to dive in: Meet Jasmine Tridevil. She has three breasts (supposedly). Tridevil (no that's not her real name, but that's what she wants to go by) is a 21-year-old licensed massage therapist and die-hard Criss Angel fan from Florida who decided to undergo a shocking and controversial $20,000 surgery to add a third breast to her chest.
Tridevil also stated that she's hoping to bank a reality show from this, and has already put the wheels in motion to make something happen. "I was making really good money [being a licensed massage therapist] but now I'm trying to star in a reality show instead. I don't like that job," she shared, and later added, "My whole dream is to get this show on MTV. I hired a camera crew individually, so I'm the producer of this show right now."
Elizabeth Ann "Lizzie" Velásquez is an American motivational speaker and author. She has a rare congenital disease which, among other symptoms, impedes her from accumulating body fat. This condition resulted in bullying during her childhood and early youth and ultimately inspired her to take up motivational speaking. She has gained many supporters and speaks out against bullying. Lizzie was diagnosed with Marfan syndrome by the Baylor College of Medicine.
Velásquez has zero percent body fat and is medically unable to gain weight. She has never weighed more than 29 kg (64 pounds), and is required to eat many small meals and snacks throughout the day. Additionally, she is blind in her right eye, which began to cloud over when she was four years of age, and vision-impaired in her left eye. Ever since Lizzie was dubbed the "World's Ugliest Woman" in a video posted on YouTube, Lizzie has spoken out against bullying. She has spoken at TED, where she talked about the topic of "How Do YOU Define Yourself" and has garnered 40 million views on her YouTube Channel. Lizzie is known for her optimism.
The world's longest documented hair belongs to Xie Qiuping (China) at 5.627 m (18 ft 5.54 in) when measured on 8 May 2004. She has been growing her hair since 1973 from the age of 13 and now she needs an assistant to carry her crowning glory, as it's too long for her to manage alone.
Xie has been growing her hair out since she was a child. She says that her last haircut was in 1973. "It's no trouble at all. I'm used to it. But you need patience and you need to hold yourself straight when you have hair like this," she said. While Xie has a strong lock on the title of world's longest hair, there is a challenger, Cheng Shiqiong, who has been growing out her hair since 1996. But Ms. Qiuping doesn't need to be worried - Cheng's hair is only half the length of hers, at nearly 8 feet long.
Svetlana Pankratova (born April 29, 1971) has, according to Guinness World Records, the longest legs of any woman in the world. While she is not the world's tallest woman, her legs are 132 centimeters long. Because her upper body is of much more typical dimensions, she is 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in) tall. She has also very large feet, size 13 (US) / 46 (EU).
Pankratova was born in Volgograd, Russian SFSR, USSR. She played women's basketball at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia, USA, from 1992 to 1995. She was an impact player, setting two school records which are still unbroken. Along with her native Russian, Pankratova speaks English and some Spanish. She lived in Torremolinos, Spain. On March 11, 2013 it was reported that Pankratova returned to Virginia after marrying local resident Jack Gosnell. She accepted a position as an assistant coach for the George Mason High girls' basketball team.
Lauren Williams has the longest-known legs in the United States, with her eye-catching limbs measuring an incredible 49 inches from hip to heel. Lauren's height and long-legged genes can be attributed to her family as her father, mother and twin sisters are all 6ft or taller. She has US size 11 feet (UK size 10), and revealed that she can find it tricky to buy clothes that fit. When modelling, single Lauren - who has worked on campaigns for global brands such as Nike - does everything from sports and fitness to high fashion and swimwear.
Having played volleyball in college, as well as being extremely active, Lauren also enjoys shooting sporty campaigns. As well as modelling, Lauren works as an educator at a children's museum in Houston and enjoys travelling. When out and about, her striking looks and long limbs mean she gets comments about her legs on a daily basis.
The oldest competitive female bodybuilder is Edish Wilma Conner (USA, born 09 May 1935). She last competed in the 2011 NPC Armbrust Pro Gym Warrior Classic Bodybuilding Championships in Loveland, Colorado, USA, on 20 August 2011. She entered her first bodybuilding competition (the Grand Masters in Las Vegas) on her 65th birthday, winning first place. She is also a personal trainer. She exercises at least three times a week and does not diet.
She began fitness training with her youngest son, taking it out "on the weights instead of the employees." She's 77 now, and though she is recovering from shoulder surgery, started lifting again in April, and plans to compete in the future, though not this year. Connor is also a certified personal trainer, specializing in "the mature body." Her clients are all over fifty. She sounds like exactly the kind of person who could get you motivated about getting into shape.
Adrianne Lewis, 18, thinks she may have the world's longest tongue. The Michigan native's tongue is 4 inches long and can reach her eye. Although she has not been officially judged, Lewis believes she has what it takes to break the Guinness World Record. Lewis created a YouTube channel two years ago and since then her long licker has gone viral with thousands of people tuning in to watch her roll and twist her extraordinarily long tongue.
Lewis' tongue will appear in Ripley's Believe It or Not's annual book due out in May 2016, Edward Meyer, vice president of exhibits for Ripley's, told USA TODAY Network. "She's certainly not the first long tongue story we've ever done, but it's definitely a 'believe it or not,' " he said. "As an editor, I see that kind of story and it brings a smile to my face and I want the world to know about it."
Most body modifications on a female is held by Maria Jose Cristerna (Mexico) who has a total of 49 body modifications, including significant tattoo coverage, a range of transdermal implants on her forehead, chest and arms, and multiple piercings in her eyebrows, lips, nose, tongue, ear lobes, belly button and nipples. Maria Cristerna is also referred to as "The Mexican Vampire lady." She had dental work to make her look like she has fangs and even has titanium horns inserted into her head making her the scariest looking woman ever.
The The 35-year-old mother-of-four gives talks to women suffering from domestic abuse. "At first people were interested in my looks because it was cool, because it attracts attention and because it's something different," Cristerna is quoted as saying in a Sky News article. "But I see it as something good among all the bad, because I'm giving a message. I won't be able to change the thinking of the entire world, but I'm always there to help the people that need it."
Jessica Tatiana Long (born February 29, 1992) is a Russian-born United States Paralympic swimmer from Baltimore, Maryland competing in S8 and SB7 category events. She has held world records in several events in her class and has won multiple gold medals over three Summer Paralympics. Long entered the international stage at the 2004 Paralympic Games in Athens, Greece, winning three gold medals in swimming. Aged twelve at the time, she was the youngest competitor on the U.S. Paralympic Team. One of her gold medals was the 100-meter freestyle.
Long was born Tatiana Olegovna Kirillova in Bratsk, Siberia and adopted at the age of 13 months. Because of fibular hemimelia, her lower legs were amputated when she was 18 months old. She learned to walk with prostheses. Long has been involved in many sports including gymnastics, cheerleading, ice skating, biking, trampoline, and rock climbing. She began swimming in her grandparents' pool before joining her first competitive team in 2002. The next year, Long was selected as Maryland Swimming's 2003 Female Swimmer of the Year with a Disability.
Cindy Jackson, born in 1956 in Hazard, Kentucky, United States is an American plastic surgery pioneer and best-selling author and television personality. In 2000 she was listed in the Guinness World record book for having had more cosmetic surgery procedures than anyone else. Since 1987 she has spent over $100,000 on 47 cosmetic procedures and has had 14 full scale operations including facelifts, two nose operations, eye lifts, knee, waist, abdomen and thigh liposuction, jaw surgery, lip and cheek implants, chemical peels and dozens of non-surgical procedures.
Jackson, 55, grew up in small town Ohio, with a short-tempered father and low self-esteem. She recalled a comment someone made to her when she was young: "One guy said when I was 14, 'You know Cindy, when you smile, from the side your nose and chin almost meet.'" She said: "It was like being in the wrong body and wrong face and I felt that very much and wanted to change it." When her father died, he left her some money, and she used it to start her transformation. She says she's been careful to take it slow, but also said she just wants to look beautiful and young. "I feel like a young spirit and I don't want to look in the mirror and see and old face. I feel this is me," she said. "This is the way I should look."
Swedish born Pixee Fox had already spent more than $80,000 on plastic surgery attempting to sculpt the perfect hourglass figure. But now she has taken her obsession even further by having 6 of her lower ribs removed - so she can shrink her waist to a record-breaking 14 inches. Pixee, from Sweden, said: "People often come up to me and say, "don't take this the wrong way, but you look like a cartoon" - but for me that's a compliment, that's what I want to achieve.
With 6 of her lower ribs removed, Pixee's lower internal organs, including the liver, have lost some of their natural protection - but she isn't worried. She said: "Before if I was in a car crash I would normally break my ribs. If that happened now I'm probably going to break my spleen instead. In total she has had four rhinoplasties costing $14,000; four breast augmentations of 200cc, 525cc, 800cc and 1400cc costing $28,500; two rounds of liposuction at $5,000; two upper eyelid surgeries at $6,000; a labiaplasty costing $4,000; a Brazilian butt lift at $9,000 and cool-sculpting, cheek injections, and lip injections at about $12,000.
Sarah Massey would be just another 33-year-old mother-of-two from Chicago - if it weren't for the fact that she also happens to have the world's biggest butt. Though not officially recognized by the prudes at Guinness, Massey's massive 7-foot wide keister requires a pair of 10XL trousers that would comfortably fit all of the Kardashian sisters combined.
Massey insists the condition that resulted in her museum-sized bubble butt is hereditary - "there's nothing I can do about it," she says - but that her love of ice cream certainly contributed to its maintenance. Massey would still like to lose some weight, but says she now has a new-found appreciation for her natural assets, and fervently defends them against anyone who calls them fake. "Some people can't believe one person can have this much butt," she told Barcroft. "Because I've got a relatively small frame on top they say, 'that can't be real.' I carry this weight with me all the time, everywhere I go, it's definitely not fake. Big booties are just in my blood."
The longest time to hold the breath underwater is 18 min 32.59 sec and was achieved by Karoline Mariechen Meyer (Brazil) at the Racer Academy swimming pool in Florianopolis, Brazil, on 10 July 2009. Karoline is a professional freediver who trained for four months to try and break the record. Prior to the attempt she inhaled oxygen for 24 minutes.
Meyer began diving during childhood. She became a competitive freediver in 1998. She has gone on to hold 8 world records, 2 Pan-American Records, 30 South American records, and 6 national records. She has also won several international competitions representing Brazil. Besides freediving, Meyer contributes toward fundraising for needy communities, public schools. She supports programmes against child labour, and advocated for children who live in front of the sea and have parents whose income depends directly on the sea.
Guinness World Records presented Rumeysa Gelgi with the record title of Tallest Female Teenager in the world. The 17-year-old, who has a standing height of 213.6 cm (7ft 0.09 in), received the award in a special presentation in her hometown of Safranbolu, Karabük, in Turkey. Rumeysa is currently in the 11th grade at high school and lives at home with her parents and older siblings - who are all normal height.
Guinness World Records Official Seyda Subasi-Gemici said: "Guinness World Records celebrates diversity and recognises extraordinary people all over the world. Rumeysa Gelgi has shown tremendous courage in the way that she has dealt with her condition, and it is an honour to meet and award her with the record title of Tallest Teenager." Medical experts believe that Rumeysa's condition is caused by Weaver's syndrome, a rare genetic disorder that causes rapid growth. In addition to her exceptional height, Rumeysa's hands measure 24.5 cm and feet 30.5 cm.
Mayra Hills - also known as Beshine - measures at 59-28-36 and says she's the proud owner of the world's largest fake breasts. And it's not hard to believe her claim to fame, considering each of her breasts have 10,000 cc of saline implants and weigh 20 pounds a piece! As you can imagine, it's difficult for Beshine, who wears a size 32Z bra, to find clothes that fit, so the German-born woman has a lot of her items custom-made.
But bra shopping isn't her only woe. She can no longer tie her own shoes and has run into trouble when she's knocked things over with her chest - but it appears she's satisfied with her body, troubles and all. "Some people maybe think the sheer size of my t-ts bring too many handicaps in my everyday life, but hey, having big boob problems is amazing," she wrote on her blog.
Doctors believe that this woman has the "World's biggest hands" since each of her arms weighs 21 pounds. Duangjay Samaksamam is a shop owner from Surin province in Thailand. For over 50 years, she has suffered from a very painful and rare condition that has her limbs permanently swollen. She says that moving is painful for her even when handling simple tasks. "My hands are so heavy I can barely lift them to comb or shampoo my hair, it's very difficult. Getting dressed is also very difficult and painful," she says.
The 59-year-old was embarrassed by her condition and spent her first 20 years as a recluse. She was ashamed of her look and never even went to school. Circumstances forced her to stop hiding so that she could earn a living and take care of her parents. She took over the running of her family's grocery shop. Medics around the world have a keen interest in her and many of them have attempted to reduce the swelling through surgery. None to date however has succeeded. "Some doctors said the only solution was to cut off my hands if I wished to walk around freely. But I don't want to do that," she says.
The largest breasts belongs to Annie Hawkins-Turner (aka Norma Stitz) (USA) who has an under breast measurement of 109.22 cm (43 in) and an around chest-over-nipple measurement of 177.8 cm (70 in). She currently wears a US size 52I bra, the largest made, but by American bra estimation, these measurements would put her in a 48V bra, which is not manufactured.
Annie says that her record-breaking bust began developing at the age of nine "I just started growing, and kept right on. I started wearing a bra when I was in third grade, and it was a regular grown-up woman's bra. I don't remember ever weaing a training bra." Annie was awarded her Guinness World Records title in 2000. "It made me feel like a million bucks. It's such an honour. This will go down in history. It's something I will always cherish."
