Mrs B

Celebrating the life of centenarian Mrs Angela Bergonzi

A long-time Hackney resident, who claims she’s ‘never had a takeaway’, is still the treasurer of her tenant and resident association (TRA) – and an active part of her community –  at 100 years old.

Mrs Angela Bergonzi, known as Mrs B, was born in May 1925 in Hammersmith and raised in King’s Cross. She moved to Hackney in 1952, living at Queensbridge Road, with her husband Gino Bergonzi and their first child.

Mrs B admitted she ‘hated’ Hackney at first, but had grown to love it over the years. “The people are lovely here,” she says. “I feel very blessed.”

The family were moved to Queensbridge Court in 1953, where she and Gino had an additional seven children. She has lived there ever since.

When Mrs B turned 100 on 16 May 2025, she was joined by friends and family at St Mary’s Community Hall to celebrate her amazing life.

Gino and Angela both have roots in the same village in northern Italy. She explains it was important that her family grew up eating fresh, homemade, non-processed food: “That was the Mediterranean style,” she says.

Adding she has never had a takeaway: “The only takeaway I’ll have is making a sandwich in my kitchen, and I’ll take that away with me.”

Watch the video of Mrs B on her 100th birthday

Gino died in 1980. Mrs B did not remarry and took over the sole tenancy of their home. She still wears the gold necklace Gino gave her on a date in the 1940s.

Mrs B says the thing she’s most proud of in life is her children and their children…and their children! She has 14 grandchildren and 19 great-grandchildren. Even with such a big family her son, Dom, says she never misses a birthday.

Mrs B is still actively involved in her community and is the treasurer of St Mary’s Estate TRA, having worked in accounts many years ago.

She recalls: “I used to pay the factory workers’ wages during the war effort. I loved it. I was no good at needlework or painting, but I love money and words.”

Fiercely independent, Mrs B says the thing she misses the most is ‘being free as a bird.’

And the secret to her long life? Apart from avoiding processed food and her family’s impeccable genes (her sister just turned 102), proud Catholic Mrs B reckons ‘only the good Lord’ could tell her how she’s lived so long.

Amazingly, she was able to get a birthday card from the late Pope Francis, who passed away in April 2025. She says, “I received it after he died because the family requested it a while ago. That was a lovely surprise!”