Jyoti Amge (India) is a Guinness World Records star.
Now 28 and originally from Nagpur, central India, Jyoti has a larger-than-life personality, a flourishing career as an actress and two Guinness World Records titles:
- shortest female living (mobile)
- shortest actress
She measures an average of 62.8 cm (2 ft 0.72 in), and broke her second record after appearing as a regular character in American Horror Story: Freak Show (premiered 8 October 2014), where she portrayed the character of Ma Petite alongside Jessica Lange.
Born on 16 December 1993, Jyoti became the shortest teenager living (female) in 2009.
At the time, she was fifteen and measured 61.95 cm (2 ft).
According to her mother, Ranjana, Jyoti measured a normal size at birth and during the first years of her childhood.
Jyoti's growth halted when she was five, but she kept attending school with average-sized schoolmates thanks to a desk and chair specifically made for her height.
"The doctors think that the reason behind my height not increasing is a deficiency of growth hormones," Jyoti explains.
Jyoti has a form of dwarfism called achondroplasia, which completely hampered her growth in her youth.
See how Jyoti makes average-sized things look bigger!
During her years being a true Guinness World Records icon, Jyoti had the chance to travel the world and meet several people.
Among them, there’s the current tallest man living: Sultan Kosen (Turkey).
The iconic meeting between two of GWR's most distinctive and beloved record holders left Jyoti, as she says, "a little shocked".
"When I met the world's tallest man living, Sultan, I was a little shocked," she said.
"I was thinking how can someone be so tall. He was astonished to see me as well. But it felt amazing meeting him and we are very good friends."
Although life can present some unique challenges due to her size, Jyoti always feels really good when she visits a place and is surrounded by supportive people.
Her family has always been at the forefront to make sure Jyoti felt empowered to follow her dreams, and offered her continuous encouragement.
"My family has always supported me ever since I was a child. If my family wouldn't have supported me, I wouldn't have come this far." -Jyoti Amge
But, other than her family and friends, Jyoti can also count on the support of countless fans, who have discovered her through her record, her appearances on TV shows and her carefully updated social media accounts.
"Everyone is fond of me, and I feel popular at that moment."
So far Jyoti has been featured in international TV shows as well as several movies in and out of her homeland, and means to extend her acting career.
"I want to build my career in acting and I want to do more TV shows in the future."
She is also very careful about all the 'in' social media platforms, and curates her online space in her free time by filming Reels and videos.
Despite the hours of work that go into the content creation process - which Jyoti defines as "tiring, at times" - interacting with her fans also makes her happy.
"I do put in a lot of effort, and that's the reason I have a lot of followers. It feels nice to have fans, I feel happy!"
Just like any other celebrity, fans queue to take a selfie with her.
Jyoti says that she is happy with the attention she received thanks to her fame.
But fame can sometimes feel overwhelming, too.
"When I take selfies with my fans it feels nice but overwhelming too because there are so many of them who want to take a selfie with me."
But how does Jyoti pass the time when she’s not surrounded by fans or curating her social media accounts?
Jyoti likes to play Carrom, a traditional table game that is very popular in India.
She also spends a lot of time scrolling on social media, finding inspiration for her own videos, or visiting new destinations.
"I like exploring places and shopping, I love doing nail art, making reels and spending time with kids."
She also keeps an eye out for the new trends, and spends time improving her style and finding new clothes – especially western ones.
"I like designer clothes, I like wearing crop tops, gowns and sometimes traditional attire, but I love wearing western clothes more!"
Jyoti has big dreams for the future.
She wants to keep meeting fans and people that she inspires, and she would like to meet India's Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, one day.
More than anything, however, she wants to encourage the people around her to never lose hope and to keep fighting for their dreams.
"All I want to say to the people who are like me is, if your family is with you, you should never lose hope and keep trying and working towards your goal. If you keep trying you will definitely achieve all your dreams."
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