Originally published 2019-08-24.
When Louise Signore turned 107 on 31 July 2019, reporters asked the question every centenarian hears: what is the secret? Her answer made headlines across the United States. “I think the secret of 107: I never got married,” she told New York station WCBS, with a twinkle that made it clear she was enjoying herself. She also credited good Italian cooking, staying active and a busy social life. And she was not finished: Signore went on to live another six and a half years, dying in the Bronx in January 2026 at the age of 113.
Louise Signore’s secret to a long life
The single-life line was the one everyone repeated, but Signore did not stop there. Her sister, then 102, had apparently joined in the joke, saying she wished she had never married either. With two sisters past the century mark, the family clearly had something going for it, and longevity running in families is one of the more consistent patterns researchers see among the very old.
WCBS
Her other tips were about food and movement. She was raised on home-style Italian meals and was proud of it. “Italian food is very good for you,” she said, adding that she avoided soda and cake. At the senior centre she joined in whatever was going on: when there was an exercise class, she exercised, and when there was music, she danced. After lunch she liked a game of bingo, which by her own account rounded off a full day.
A 107th birthday in Co-op City
Signore celebrated with a party at the JASA Bartow Community Center in Co-op City, the vast housing development in the northeast Bronx. More than 100 people came to mark the day, a sign of how well known she was in the neighbourhood.
WCBS
Reaching 107 had not been easy. CBS New York reporter Jessica Layton reported that Signore was legally blind, had recently recovered from pneumonia, and at 103 had survived being assaulted and robbed in her own apartment building. Layton called her strength inspiring, and it is hard to disagree. Coming back from those setbacks to dance at her own birthday party says a good deal about her temperament.
Her life in New York
Louisa Jean Signore was born in Harlem, Manhattan, on 31 July 1912, to Teodoro and Maria Signore, at a time when the neighbourhood was home to a large Italian American community. She spent her whole life in New York City and had no children.
There is one small twist in the never-married story. The Gerontology Research Group, which checks the documents of people claiming extreme ages, notes that a marriage record from September 1928 may refer to her. If it does, the marriage was short-lived, and Signore always described herself as never having married. Whatever the paperwork shows, independence was clearly central to how she saw her life.
From 107 to 113: what happened next
At the time of her 107th birthday, the oldest living woman in the United States was Alelia Murphy, who was 114 and, like Signore, had ties to Harlem. Murphy died in November 2019, a few months after Signore’s party.
Signore kept going. She turned 110 in July 2022, joining the very small group of people known as supercentenarians, and the Gerontology Research Group validated her age on 6 July 2023 after reviewing her records. She died in the Bronx on 27 January 2026, at 113 years and 180 days.
Jessica Layton/Twitter
Does staying single really help you live longer?
It makes a great headline, but one person’s experience cannot prove that avoiding marriage adds years to anyone’s life. Signore was making a joke as much as a claim, and she listed plenty of other habits in the same breath.
Studies of marriage and health have tended to find mixed results that depend heavily on the quality of the relationship, on social support, money and many other factors. A warm, supportive partnership and a stressful, unhappy one are very different things, and the same goes for a lonely single life compared with one full of friends and family. Signore had a sister nearby, a community centre she loved and more than 100 guests at her party; she was single, but far from isolated.
What the very old often have in common is harder to put on a mug: good genes, a good share of luck, staying active, staying connected to other people and keeping a sense of humour. Anyone wanting personal advice on diet or exercise in later life should talk to a doctor, but Signore’s routine of simple home cooking, regular movement and daily company is a pleasant one to borrow.
Why her answer struck a chord
Part of the appeal was surprise. Centenarians are usually expected to credit a loving spouse, faith or a daily glass of red wine. Signore’s cheeky reply turned that script around and gave people, married and single alike, something to laugh about. It also offered a reminder that a long life can be a full one without following the usual path. She chose how to live, she danced when the music played, and she kept doing so far longer than most of us will.
Sources: WTOP / CNN affiliate WCBS, August 2019; Jessica Layton, CBS New York, on Twitter; Gerontology Research Group: Louise Signore; ABC7 New York, 29 November 2019. Photos: WCBS and Jessica Layton/Twitter.
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