Italy's Emma Morano turned 117 on Tuesday, November 29.

Born in 1899, she is the oldest person in the world and one of just a handful to have lived through three centuries.

A key to her longevity, she tells the New York Times, is being single. After a troubled marriage, Morano kicked her husband out in 1938, a time when separation was rare and divorce illegal.

"I didn't want to be dominated by anyone," Morano tells the Times. She never remarried despite having "plenty of suitors."