Colleen Is a 73-Year-Old Model Who Poses in Swimsuits and Teaches People to Ignore Stereotypes
We know that the beauty industry sets incredibly high standards for models. Magazine covers and Instagram accounts are full of images of ever-young, beautiful women with perfect skin. So, it’s exciting when someone who defies these so-called universal standards becomes popular. 73-year-old model Coleen proves that age is nothing more than a number.
Colleen started her modeling career after retiring from her first career at the age of 69. Before that, she was a mother and a flight attendant. The mother of 2 sons became a model almost accidentally. The founder of Advanced Style noticed her photo and added it to his book. Soon after that, she signed a contract with a model agency and became a star.
Colleen became very active on her social media, where she shares her outfits and thoughts about life and beauty. She also uses social media as a support tool for all the people who might be struggling with stereotypes about appearance.
She often gives sassy responses to the critics about her “age-inappropriate” clothes. For example, she’s not shy of demonstrating her body in swimsuits and underwear, and says to all the critics, “’This swimwear is not age appropriate’, is what they say... I say, ’Wear what makes you feel good!’”
She is consistently fighting for the right of women to wear what they like, despite their age. Coleen congratulated her subscribers on Christmas and said, “I dress my age however I want!”
In the video, she wears bright outfits, high heels, and mini skirts, and writes, “Don’t let them define you. We are strong. We are not invisible. I dress my age however I want.” The post became a source of support for women all around the world, gaining lots of responses with words of gratitude.
Colleen encourages people to be active. She thinks that there are no excuses for avoiding activity and that our main enemy is a lack of physical and mental exercise. To her fans’ delight, Colleen wears bright clothes even to the gym.
Colleen urges people to never stop dreaming and always share love with our relatives and friends, “Might I wish you the joy of receiving the affection in kind... please, share your beautiful selves with others as we can never know, nor imagine the wonderful difference it just might make in their lives.”
Colleen’s ability to dream is the key that gives her the power to keep on moving. Once, she met a stranger who was amazed by the model’s love and energy. Coleen said that the source of her never-ending energy is dreaming and swimming. The woman responded that she never dreamed, and Coleen was so moved by her words that she wrote an entire post about it. She believes that no matter how old you are, you have to keep on dreaming. “Please, always dare to let yourself dream! Dreams entice you to believe there is life to be lived, strength to be gained, fun, laughter and love yet to be.”
What would you like to do when you retire? Would you like to become a model?