Maye Musk just became the newest CoverGirl. The 69-year-old model also happens to be the mom of Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk.
Musk, who is believed to be the oldest-ever spokeswoman for CoverGirl, is the latest example of the beauty company’s push into diversity. Last year, it signed James Charles, its first CoverBoy, and Nura Afia, the first CoverGirl in a hijab.
Ukonwa Ojo , the SVP of CoverGirl, sounded very excited to be working with the ageless wonder.
“Maye Musk is not only a timeless beauty, but a visionary who has always followed her own path, creating new opportunities and paving the way for so many others who might not meet the industry standard of ‘model,’ but are truly beautiful in every regard.”
Maye has been a model for more than five decades and is signed with IMG Models Worldwide. She has appeared on the covers of magazines like Vogue Korea and Elle Quebec and starred in beauty campaigns for Clinique and Revlon. She was also featured in Beyonce’s music video for the song “Haunted” in 2013.
But modeling is only a part of her career: she’s also run a nutrition business for over 45 years and has two master’s degrees.
Musk’s life story reads like a stylish adventure book. She was born Maye Haldeman in Regina, Saskatchewan, in 1948 to explorer parents who had met when her father, a caretaker, came to take lessons with her mother, a ballroom-dancing instructor. When Musk was nearly 3, the family, including her three siblings, moved to Pretoria, South Africa.
She started modeling at 15 and was a finalist in the 1969 Miss South Africa contest. By 21 she had earned a bachelor’s in dietetics, and she would go on to juggle nutritional clients with fashion shoots. She married Errol Musk, an engineer, in 1970; had three kids (Elon has a younger brother, Kimbal, and a sister, Tosca); but divorced him nine years later and followed her children as they left apartheid South Africa for careers in North America.
Lately, the fashion world has been paying more attention to the five-decade model and Maye is very proud of that.
. @covergirl I’m so excited to say that I’m now officially a COVERGIRL, at 69! Beauty is for all ages. #COVERGIRLMADE pic.twitter.com/xndw5deHXs
— Maye Musk (@mayemusk) September 27, 2017
“I’m living proof that you can find work for an older woman… I’ve never worked so much as I do now.”
The jobs have evolved from “mother of the bride” commercials to “mother of Elon” editorials, which doesn’t bother her one bit.
“I don’t care why a client books me, as long as they book me.”
[Featured Image by Evan Agostini/AP Images]