Louise Hollis, the woman who held the Guinness World Record for the longest toenails, has passed away at the age of 86.
From Compton, California, USA, Louise began growing her toenails in 1981 after watching a TV program featuring the world’s longest fingernails.
Inspired by the show, she also grew her fingernails to impressive lengths, though not enough to break the record.
When measured for the record in 1991, the combined length of her 10 toenails reached 220.98 cm (87 inches), marking the longest toenail length ever recorded.
A 2004 entry in the Guinness World Records noted that each toenail was, on average, as long as the width of a page in the book itself.
In 1999, Louise told Fox TV that her nails grew so long she could no longer walk unless she held up her heel.
She was also featured in the 2007 edition of Guinness World Records, which mentioned that she rarely wore shoes.
When she did, they had to be open-toed with soles at least 7.62 cm (3 inches) thick to keep her nails from dragging on the ground.
Having had 12 children, Louise once shared on a TV show how her husband left her due to the attention her nails attracted.
“He told me, ‘nails go or I go.’ I said, ‘I’ve had you for 22 years, you can split. The nails are new.’” Louise revealed.
