World’s Tallest Woman is dead

Yao Defen, who measured a gigantic 7ft 8in, passed away last month, November 13, in her hometown of Zhucheng, eastern China at the age 40.  

Yao developed gigantism due to a tumour on her pituitary gland. By the age of 15, she stood at over two metres tall.

While playing for her school’s basketball team, she fainted on court and had to undergo a medical examination.Doctors then discovered the tumour, which was releasing too much growth hormone and causing excessive growth in her bones.

In 2006, it was removed and Yao finally stopped growing. The tumour returned the following year but her family couldn't afford further surgery.

A neighbour recalled how on the morning of Yao's death, her widowed mother came running out of the family house.

The woman, named only as Zhang, reportedly said: "It was 9am in the morning, just after breakfast, when her mother shouted that the girl was hurt.

“People immediately rushed over to their home. I saw Yao lying on the bed – she wasn’t breathing…Later, her sister arrived and the doctor soon confirmed her death. Her sad mother cried then fainted.”