• Home
• /
• Lifestyle
• /
• Interviews

60-year-old grandma who's a 'role model'

At an age when women - especially in the beauty and glamour business - are written off, Yazemeenah Rossi is making waves as a model who flaunts her years in style

If you recognise Yazemeenah Rossi from these photos, chances are you've seen her plastered all over the Internet lately. Pictures and articles about the 60-year-old model went viral in recent months, thanks to her striking appearance and confident attitude displayed in the pictures.

We're not really strangers to older, glamorous women. The likes of Yasmin Le Bon (51), Ines de la Fressange (58), Carmen Dell'Orefice (84), Daphne Selfe (touted as the world's oldest supermodel at 87), and the more familiar ones, actresses Jane Fonda (78) and Lauren Hutton (72), are also hugely popular older models. The famous Twiggy of the 1960s - real name Lesley Lawson - has also made a comeback to modelling at 66. In addition, we're increasingly far more accepting of older women doing screen roles which would've been scripted for much younger women earlier. Cue Sandra Bullock, Julianne Moore, Julia Roberts, Halle Berry, and Nicole Kidman who're still rocking Hollywood.

Yazemeenah, unlike many of these older glam girls though, defies traditional beauty conventions, letting her grey grow completely silver and long, and not bothering with botox, plumpers or face lifts. Her face - stamped with the evidence of time in fine lines and crow's feet - is not so much age-defying as it is age-accepting; something that the lady - who says it's an integral part of ageing well - testifies to. "I receive so many messages asking me how to age gracefully," she says. "But I tell them, embrace your uniqueness, take advantage of it, and keep recreating yourself." Life isn't so much about looks as it is about experiences, she stresses.

The tall and still-lissom model herself slid into life-changing experiences at a rather late age, she says, becoming a model only at age 28. "I started out as ?a fitting model (people used by clothing makers to check the fit, drape and ?visual appearance of garments) back then, not a glamorous one who got to ?be on magazine covers or in prestigious ad campaigns. It involved long, hard days of constant standing, on high heels, without moving, while the clothes are being fitted on you. I was considered too short at 172 cm and too big to work in high fashion, but perfect for prêt-à-porter and commercial shows," she reminisces.

Gradually, however, Yazemeenah broke into the upper echelons and ended up modelling for brands like YSL, Jil Sander, Hermès, Fendi, Guy Laroche, Thierry Mugler, Christian Lacroix, and many more over the years. She's also worked for department stores, and high street and beauty brands such as Macy's, Blooming-dales, Nordstrom, Target, Ann Taylor, J Crew, Kanebo and Dove.

The success of her career coincided with her life situation - as a single mom of two, the income from modelling helped her greatly. Now a grandmother of two granddaughters aged 14 and 10, Yazemeenah is twice divorced, but continues to be friends with her last husband, and is loving her single status.

Yazemeenah's beauty & health tips for the 45+

Sleep early

Drink clean water

Eat healthy & vary your diet

Eliminate processed sugar from your diet

Scrub your face with an olive oil + sugar or salt scrub

Grapeseed oil mixed with other essential oils is great for the hair

Don't use powder on make-up

Get at least moderate exercise

Create art

Be open to new things

Rest plenty

Enjoy all of the above unapologetically

Her breakthrough as an "older model" of renown happened in the mid-90s, when the Japanese department store brand Isetan featured her in their print ads and catalogues, pushing older women to the forefront. Having just turned 40 then, she wasn't quite in the "old" category yet, but her already abundant silver hair made her seem so.

She started travelling a lot, as international modelling took her places and ?appealed to her nomadic nature. From Paris to Cape Town to New York City and, finally, now a beach in Malibu, California, she says she's reliving her childhood days in the French island of Corsica. Yazemeenah - formerly named Yasmina - has Corsican ancestry, and she says the new variation of her name is derived from ?the Corsican pronunciation of it. "It also sounds Native American, a people I have always felt close to. A native friend from New Mexico told me that 'yaze' is bowl, and 'meenah' is salt in his language. So my name literally means a bowl of salt, and it appeals to me, since salt is an integral element in earth and water, and it's the colour of my hair!"

What does she think of her newfound Internet fame? "It started in September 2015, and one day I went online to see numerous message from friends who had seen these articles about me. I couldn't believe my eyes! Newspapers, TV networks and magazines from around the world contacted me non-stop for the first two weeks after that, and it continues intermittently now." Not that Internet fame didn't come with its downsides - many sources online have printed wrong and misleading information about her, she says, even quoting interviews that she'd done years ago.

Yazemeenah is a great believer in ?synchronicity, signs and symbols, and has always believed that exploring new horizons and carving one's own identity is essential for a life well lived. Besides modelling, she's also done small roles in French movies, back in the 80s, and is considering a movie career now that she lives in close proximity to Hollywood.

The sudden exposure also helped Yazemeenah kickstart her new career as a fine art and fashion self-portrait photographer. "This is the great part about ageing: the confidence that comes with it is not based on ego needs or satisfaction, but the need to fulfill something deep-seated within you."

Today, there's so much premium placed on youth and beauty that youngsters forget to see or recognise their ?true selves, she says. "It's nice to wear beautiful clothes and great make-up, but beauty lies in the way you look at yourself and others. Appreciate beauty - in yourself and others - without judgment, envy or the need for validation."

The beautiful, sexy sexagenarian ?is now looking forward to the next new chapters in her life - fine art photography and acting. "It seems it's my karma to do things at an age when people think of retirement!" she laughs. marypaulose@khaleejtimes.com

The secret of Yazemeenah's looks (. and the health and diet mistakes we make these days)

A healthy diet for almost 40 years; learning what was good and bad for her ("it changes all the time," she says)

Turning completely vegan 30 years ago - though she reverted back to a normal diet in between, she became vegan again recently ("I just follow what I feel is right for me in the moment")

Moderation and pleasure without guilt

Eating almost everything organic, and rarely any meat or dairy; lots of vegetables, fruits, nuts, eggs, olives, and dark chocolate. When she does eat meat, fish or dairy, it's carefully chosen, like farmer's or French cheese

Indulging herself in potato chips, ice-cream or sweets - if she does feel like eating junk food - and doing so guilt-free!

Cooking everyday at home with a sense of gratitude and sacredness

Buying fresh produce from the farmer's market every week

Never eating on plastic plates or from cans

Using ground black coffee with some ghee or coconut oil, with natural vanilla and fresh organic egg yolk added

Eating before 6pm everyday

Having a cup of hot coconut milk with raw cocoa powder before going to bed

Consuming plenty of olives and fresh olive oil - cold-pressed oils and organics are a very important part of her diet

Eating seated on the floor, in a lotus posture, as this keeps her spine straight and her legs flexible, and lends reverence to the act of eating

Being grateful - she says eating with gratitude is a very important part of how the body digests ("eating without consciousness or in a non-respectful way cannot give full benefits to your body")

Practising yoga for over 30 years - not hardcore or intensive routines, but regular, daily and consistent practice, often meditative with soft music

Loving beauty in every walk of life; enjoying everything visually

Being in touch with nature - moving out of the city, going hiking and to the beach

Taking the time to create, and enjoy

Feeding her soul while feeding her body

Maintaining a constant sense of spirituality and mindfulness

"Don't follow extreme diets or extreme exercise, or anything that's not personalised for you. We are all unique and a particular diet does not apply to everybody. Experiment, and feel what is good for you. Another mistake people make is not chewing their food enough. Chewing not only stimulates all the bones in your skull, it sends signals to glands that activate the digestive system. I strongly believe that we have to enjoy food with all our senses. Moderation and variety is important as is a balanced diet, simple foods, and those that aren't overcooked or complicated. Lastly, find your ideal goal while exercising - is it to be healthy inside or just to show off a beautiful body? If the end goal is just appearance, without respect for your body rhythms, your body will find a way to put you off training through pain. There is an amazing intelligence at work inside of us. Learning about that is one of the most important keys for health and beauty" - Yazemeenah

PHOTO: AKOS FOR MARY KAY COSMETICS