'Taxi' Actress Marilu Henner Has Super-Rare Autobiographical Memory Ability

'Taxi' star Marilu Henner was featured on Sunday's '60 Minutes' for a reason entirely separate from her celebrity status: The actress, 58, has an ultra-rare ability called "superior autobiographical memory," a status scientists have only designated to a minuscule handful of people around the world.

In short, Henner can remember almost every day of her life vividly and accurately. "A day 10 years ago is as clear to them as yesterday is to you or me," a voiceover explains.

The pitch to CBS reporter Lesley Stahl was to center around super-memory violinist Louise Owen, but Stahl says: "When I first heard about this research, what surprised me was not that this condition existed, but that it was considered so rare. That's because it sounded like a description of a friend of mine."

The friend is Marilu Henner. "I can rattle off almost every time I've seen you," Henner tells Stahl in conversation. The actress goes on to run through her shoe-closet and super-specifically cite the first time she wore many pairs. It sounds hokey, but rigorous tests and thorough reporting document this remarkable ability Henner and Owen possess. See the segment after the jump.

"Louise says she can remember every day of her life since age 11," Stahl says.

Owen's explanation of it? "It's almost as automatic as if you say, 'What is your name and where do you live?'"

"It's like putting in a DVD and it queues up to a certain place," Henner answers. "I'm there again, so I'm looking out from my eyes and seeing things visually as I would have that day."

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