World's oldest woman wants her privacy

LOS ANGELES, Jan. 11 (UPI) -- Los Angeles resident Gertrude Baines says she is sick of all the attention she has gotten since becoming the world's oldest person at the age of 114.

Baines said since 115-year-old Maria de Jesus of Portugal died Jan. 2, giving Baines the world's oldest person title, she has been plagued with non-stop questions from reporters and curious individuals, the Los Angeles Times reported Sunday.

Baines, a Western Convalescent Hospital resident, said after four straight days of non-stop visits and questions, she was overwhelmed.

"I just want to go to bed and pull the covers over my head," she said.

Cynthia Thompson, who serves as Baines's caretaker, said most people who first meet the 114-year-old approach her with some misconceptions about how her many years of life have left her mental and physical acuity.

"They expect to find a shriveled up old lady sleeping in her bed," Thompson told the Times. "But that's not Ms. Baines."