Just another birthday for 116-year-old

The world's oldest person, Jeralean Talley of Inkster, Michigan, has celebrated her 116th birthday.

Jeralean Talley.

The world's oldest person, Jeralean Talley of Inkster, Michigan, has celebrated her 116th birthday. (AAP)

The world's oldest person has celebrated her 116th birthday, declaring she can offer no secret for a long life.

"There's nothing I can do about it," Jeralean Talley of Inkster, Michigan said ahead of her birthday weekend.

Talley was due to attend a party in her honour on Sunday at her church, New Jerusalem Missionary Baptist.

The Gerontology Research Group considers her the oldest person in the world, based on available records, followed by Susannah Jones of Brooklyn, New York, who turns 116 in July.

"You're more likely to win the lottery than to reach this age," says GRG spokesman Robert Young.

Talley bowled until she was 104 and still likes to catch fish. A daughter, Thelma Holloway, has told Detroit Free Press her mother still has a sharp mind.

She was born in Montrose, Georgia, in 1899 and moved to Michigan in the 1930s. Talley's husband died in 1988, aged 95.

"Her No. 1 rule is to treat people how you want to be treated," said godson Tyler Kinloch, 21, who fishes with her.

"I definitely carry that with me every single day."

Talley received $116 - a dollar for every year - at an event on Thursday at a local office of the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services.

"I thank you very, very, very, very much," she told the crowd.


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Source: AAP



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