News

Texas Woman With World’s Longest Nails Cuts Them After Almost 30 Years—Will Be Featured At Ripley’s Museum

Phew! We don’t know how Ayanna Williams held on to her lengthy 24-feet (combined) talons for almost 30 years but she did. However, this past weekend the record-breaking duo finally parted ways, according to Ripley’s official website.

Ripley’s Believe It Or Not! and the Guinness World Records joined forces to purchase the claws for an undisclosed amount. Ayanna’s “babies,” as she calls them, will be put on a display at Orlando’s Ripley’s Believe It Or Not! museum.

“I’m gonna always be the queen that I am with or without my nails cause my nails don’t make me, I make my nails,” Ayanna said in a Guinness video.

She made the difficult decision because she’d like to pick “up the pace” and move on “to the next chapter of her life,” Ripley’s reported. Ripley’s accompanied Ayanna to Trinity Vista Dermatology in Fort Worth, Texas over the weekend. Dr. Readinger took lead in clipping the impressive nails. Guinness World Records published an eight-minute video of the event to their YouTube page on Tuesday.

In the video, Ayanna expresses having “mixed emotions” about saying goodbye to the nails.

Ayanna, who hails from Houston in Texas, broke the Guinness World Record in 2017 for the world’s longest fingernails. At the time, they measured 19 feet long and reportedly took 20 hours and more than two nail polish bottles to get a manicure.

“I get so many different types of reactions from growing my nails,” Ayanna said in the Guinness video. “It’s unbelievable. The majority are good. People are excited, they don’t know what to think. They don’t even know what to say cause it’s something you don’t see on the norm,” she continued with a chuckle.

The cut-off procedure was painless and seamless. Afterwards, Ayanna resumed activities she hadn’t done in yearslike easily texting, hopping into the car and opening doors, according to Ripley’s.

Roomies, you might remember Ayanna from a 2012 episode of TLC’s ‘My Strange Addiction,’ in which she discussed her addiction to growing her toenails.

If you’re curious enough, you can check out the immortalized claws in person starting this Friday.

Want updates directly in your text inbox? Hit us up at 917-722-8057 orclick here to join!

Cassandra Santiago

Cassandra Santiago is a multimedia journalist, editor, and editorial strategist with over a decade of experience shaping conversations across arts, entertainment, culture, and global news. A graduate of the University of Iowa, she has built a cross-platform career spanning newspapers, magazines, radio, and digital media. She joined The Shade Room five years ago and currently serves as a Senior Editor, where she leads editorial direction, oversees exclusive coverage, and trains and edits a team of writers. Cassandra has played a key role in developing high-impact content and editorial strategies for an audience of more than 30 million, contributing to platform growth, engagement, and monetization across multiple channels. In addition to her leadership role, she remains a daily contributor, with her articles generating more than 41 million views since 2023. Beyond The Shade Room, Cassandra offers freelance social media strategy services, speaks on the influence and impact of Black media at public panels, and owns Did It For You, an event design company in the DC, Maryland, and Virginia area. She is Poynter Institute–certified and was named to the DMV’s 35 Under 35 list in 2024.

x