Standing just over 2 feet tall, Jyoti Amge of Nagpur, India, was confirmed Friday as the world's shortest living woman.
Guinness World Records, known as the global authority on
record-breaking -- albeit odd -- achievements, flew to India on Amge's
18th birthday to take final measurements and confirm the new record. The
title previously belonged to Bridgette Jordan, 22, of the United
States, who measures 2 feet, 3 inches tall.
Amge's birthday was celebrated at a party in Nagpur with cake and
guests from her hometown as well as Guinness representatives from
London. Amge, wearing a purple sari and celebratory henna, stood proudly
next to a copy of the 2012 Guinness record book and her official
certificate, which was almost as big as Amge herself.
Amge, at 2 feet, 0.06 inches tall, is the same height as an average
2-year-old as a result of being born with a form of dwarfism called
achondroplasia. But Amge is every bit an 18-year-old woman, attending a
regular high school and dreaming of becoming a Bollywood star. She will
star in two Bollywood movies next year, according to Guinness.
