‘World’s tallest woman’ dies at 23

A woman known for her extreme height has died at the age of 23.

 

Xiao Mo of Shaoyang, China, stood 7.5ft tall and boasted more than 152,000 followers on video social media platform Douyin.

 

She reportedly died on January 15 after succumbing to complications from a cold she had recently caught.

 

Mo was popular on Douyin, China’s version of TikTok, for her videos documenting her daily life, and was sometimes referred to as “Hunan’s No. 1 Giantess”, local media reports.

 

She was four centimetres taller than NBA star Yao Ming.

 

 

She is said to have had a difficult upbringing, having been abandoned by her mother and raised by her grandparents.

 

According to Chinese media, Mo suffered a range of underlying health conditions, such as heart and sight issues, which were connected to her extreme height.

 

She was reportedly cremated – and it is believed her father, who she did not have a good relationship with, is yet to collect her ashes from the crematorium.

 

Her shock passing devastated her followers.

 

One Douyin user said online: “Have a good trip Xiao Mo. I hope you’ll be a healthy girl with loving parents in your next life.”

 

 

Someone else commented: “She and my sister were classmates in elementary school, and later in junior high school, because she was too tall and in poor health, she stopped studying.

 

“My sister said that she was a very good person, always helping her classmates and being very easy to get along with.”

 

Although Mo was thought by some to be the world’s tallest woman, the tallest is in fact Rumeysa Gelgi of Turkey.

 

Rumeysa became the world’s tallest woman when she turned 18 and stands 7.7ft tall, according to Guinness World Records.

 

The 25-year-old was born with the rare Weaver syndrome, a genetic condition that causes bone overgrowth, which is the reason for her height and a number of medical issues she suffers, including scoliosis.