aussant was born in donges, france, the fifth of eleven children born to françois gaudet and hélène halgand. following the death of her mother, she left donges for paris in 1923. she worked as a housekeeper and babysitter. she married a railway worker from gare saint-lazare, who died in 1936. in 1946, she married another railway worker, rené aussant, who died in 1961. their only daughter died in 2007, leaving aussant without any immediate family. in 1999, she moved to a retirement home. in 2008 she was awarded the medal of the city of donges. she died at a hospital in vendôme on saturday, 23 july 2011, aged 113 years, 146 days.