We’re used to thinking that elderly people don’t have a very active lifestyle compared to when they were younger. They prefer to take care of their grandchildren or talk to other retired people. But the people from this compilation are nothing like this. Despite their age, they get the most out of their lives and pass their positive mood and their will to live onto other people.
Bright Side has collected 12 charming retirees who forgot about their age and chose to enjoy their lives much more than many young people do. Stay tuned till the end of the article where you’ll find a bonus story about a 51-year-old grandmother who is a fashion model.
Linda Rodin, a 69-year-old stylist
Linda Rodin is a stylist from New York who used to be a model for several years and then she became a photographer. Linda became more popular once she decided that 60 years old was the age when life actually starts. That’s when she returned to the fashion industry. Now at 70 years old, she has been the face of different famous brands as she has made a lot of commercials and has been on the covers of many magazines.
When asked how she manages to stay so strong and positive, Rodin says that she realized she wouldn’t become younger and accepted this. She says that aging is normal so she decided to age beautifully with grace.
Jeffry Life is a 79-year-old therapist and bodybuilder.
This is how cool people may look at the age of 79. And this man from New York used to be a family therapist who suffered from obesity. Jeffry Life was so big that he couldn’t even tie his own shoelaces and a simple walk was a real challenge. When Jeffry decided to change himself and become a bodybuilder, he couldn’t even imagine that it would change his life so dramatically. Now he is 79, he goes to the gym several times a week, and does Thai boxing. Additionally, he has written 3 best-selling books.
Daphne Selfe, 89 years old, is the oldest working model.
Daphne Selfe was born on July 1, 1928, in London. At the age of 21, she won a local competition against other girls for a magazine cover. Then, Daphne was a model for artists, worked at a fashion house, and did a lot of commercials. But after marriage, she put her career on hold. When Daphne was 70 years old, her husband passed away and she returned to the fashion business.
The elderly supermodel has done photoshoots for Dolce & Gabbana, Ralph Lauren, and Harper’s Bazaar. By the way, she still works and is planning to do what she loves until she is 100 years old. Well, let’s wish her luck and good health!
Doris Long, 102 years old, loves industrial mountaineering.
Doris Long is a 102-year-old British woman. Can you imagine her climbing up a skyscraper? Doris has been in industrial mountaineering for over 17 years! She has become the oldest person in the world to go down the 94-meter long Spinnaker Tower in the South of England. She does industrial mountaineering in order to help collect money for a local hospice.
Sarah Jane Adams is a 63-year-old style icon and jewelry designer.
Sarah Jane Adams is a stylish retired woman from Sydney. She is not ashamed of her age and she loves to talk about how a simple photo she posted on Instagram made her famous. Sarah’s fans love her incredible outfits and bold image. She combines modern clothes with the clothes of her childhood. Yes, Sarah admits that she still wears the clothes she bought when she was 18.
Once Sarah became popular she sold her house in Australia and started traveling around the world in order to meet with her fans. By the way, she has more than 165,000 subscribers on Instagram!
Today, she is a very popular model for IGM Fashion House. Sarah Jane also runs her own jewelry business.
Yvonne Daulin, a 90-year-old figure skater
Yvonne Daulin is 90 years old and she is a great figure skater. She participates in competitions across the U.S. 10 years ago, she was in a car crash and doctors prohibited her from even thinking about ice skating. Yvonne didn’t listen to their recommendations and continued training as soon as she could.
In her free time, Yvonne works as a child figure skating coach. The most important thing she teaches her students is not to care about what other people say.
Pavel Rezvoy crossed the ocean at the age of 65.
In 2004, one of the most famous extreme tourists, Pavel Rezvoy crossed the Atlantic on a rowing boat. At the time, he was 65 years old. And a year later, he became the third person in the world to cross the Indian Ocean and the second person to cross 2 oceans.
76-year-old Annette Larkins maintains a raw food diet.
In the photo above, you can see Annette Larkins at the age of 71. 5 years later, she still looks much younger than other people her age — sometimes, she’s even mistaken for her husband’s daughter! The secret of her youth is that when she was 40 years old, she tried a raw food diet. The foods that she now eats are raw vegetables and fruit, nuts, beans, and herbs that she grows herself. Annette stopped eating meat, dairy, and all processed foods.
Annette is convinced that she has the energy of a 25-year-old girl and says that her dream is for people to know the other side of eating.
Deirdre Larkin who is 86 years old has participated in many marathons.
Deirdre Larkin runs 4 miles every morning. She is a former pianist and champion of multiple marathons in her 80+ age group. In 2017 alone, she took part in 60 marathons.
It seems unbelievable but Deirdre Larkin was born without one vertebra so doctors recommended her to move as little as possible. At the age of 38, she had back surgery and it was so hard for her to move that she could barely lift a cup of tea. In the year 2000, she was diagnosed with osteoporosis. She had been taking pills for 10 years along with injections but it was all useless. In 2010, (when Deirdre was 78) she decided to join her son for morning runs. And 8 years later, her osteoporosis is almost gone. Now Deirdre is sure that life without running is a slow death. She is determined to keep running even if she loses a leg!
Iris Apfel, 96 years old, is a restorer and designer.
Iris Apfel is a famous American collector and designer. She spent over 40 years making interior designs and restoring homes, including taking orders from the White House! Iris has always loved collecting clothes and she started doing so at the age of 12. And only decades later did people see her huge clothing collection along with more than 300 accessories. The exhibition was very successful and even celebs came to take a look.
Unfortunately, in 2015, Iris lost her husband Carl who died 3 days before he turned 101. She spent 67 happy years with him. But despite her loss, she is still full of energy, has a great sense of humor and continues to release her jewelry.
80-year-old Heidi Hetzer traveled around the world by car.
80-year-old Heidi Hetzer is a legendary woman in Germany: she used to be a car racer in her youth before owning one of the biggest Opel car retail stores in Berlin. At the age of 76, she decided to repeat the worldwide travel excursion of the famous car racer Cläre Stinnes. She chose to drive a Hudson Great Eight released in 1930.
Heidi set out on June 27, 2014, from Berlin and crossed Eastern Europe, the Middle East, China, Laos, and Malasia. In Singapore, she put the car on a ship and swam to Australia, then arrived in North America, drove to South America and finished in Berlin on March 12. Of course, she had a lot of trouble with the car, but it would get fixed by local mechanics.
By the way, during her trip, Heidi posted pictures on Instagram, so everyone who was curious could be a part of her journey.
Baddie Winkle is 89 years old and a role model to many.
Baddie Winkle is an old woman from Kentucky who will turn 90 years old on July 18. She has more than 3.3 million subscribers on her Instagram page, including Rihanna! Not every celebrity has this many fans.
It all started in 2014 when Baddie’s granddaughter posted a short video with her grandmother in it and it went viral. Then, Baddie decided to create her own Instagram account and post funny and bright pictures from her life. Her posts of her eccentric outfits amazed many people. And it all happened despite her sad story of losing both her son and her husband. But today, Baddie Winkle is one of the most popular grandmothers on Instagram and famous brands pay her money just to hold their products in her hands. There’s even a Wikipedia page about her!
The example of this old lady inspired hundreds of other elderly women to start leading a healthy lifestyle. Do you think you’ll be able to maintain this level of love for life at this age?
Bonus: the most beautiful grandmother
Jacqueline Berrido Pisano is a 51-year old woman. It’s really hard to believe that she is 51 if you look at her photos. Her secret is quite simple: an active lifestyle, a healthy diet, and taking good care of her appearance made her an Instagram star. She built her career all on her own and started taking care of herself when she had enough money to do so. Her fashion style is simply amazing — we can’t stop enjoying it!
Whose story impressed you the most? Tell us in the comment section below!
Preview photo credit realfashionist / instagram
