I Became a Model at 69 and People Suddenly Started Noticing Me

For her 68th birthday in 2019, Rosa Saito gave herself an unusual present. In the past year, photographers and casting agents approached her three times on the streets of São Paulo, suggesting she become a model. Initially, she dismissed these advances, but after several months of pondering, she reconsidered.

“No one had commented on my appearance until I reached 67, when people suddenly started to notice me,” Rosa says. “It was very strange, but being spotted made me realize I could still achieve something for myself at this stage of my life. I had raised three children, and now I wanted to see what I could do alone. If not now, then I never would.”

She contacted one of the agencies that had reached out to her, and they promptly added her to their roster, sending her out for castings. “At my first casting they asked me to act like I was just getting home from a nightclub, but I have never done that before,” she laughs. “I didn’t get the job, but I started to see how modeling is about inhabiting a character and performing. It was a challenge that began to excite me.”

It would take another year for Rosa to book her first job. Despite attending numerous castings and often being turned away, she saw these experiences as opportunities to practice her posing and walking in front of professionals. “The rejections only made me want to book a job more,” she says. “I was used to facing difficulties in my life, so these were small setbacks compared to everything else I had been through. I was prepared to keep going.”

Rosa learned resilience early on after becoming the primary caregiver for her mother, who had a stroke when Rosa was 22. After her husband’s death in 2000, she raised her three children alone. Passionate about natural remedies and plant medicine, she believes they are key to her current appearance. “I think that is the most important thing that has helped me look the way I do today,” she says. “I’m a natural person and I’ve never had any surgery. I have just taken care of my body with nature for my whole life.”

In 2020, at 69 years old, Rosa’s persistence paid off when she booked her first modeling job for a Brazilian cosmetics brand. “I walked into the photography studio and I was so nervous, especially since I was the oldest person there,” she says. “But as soon as we began, my experience from all the castings kicked in and I relaxed. The production team asked me where I had been hiding, as they said they had been looking for older women like me for years. It really helped me feel accepted.”

Rosa also unintentionally became a role model for younger women on the shoot. “I received so many compliments from the other models, and it made me realize that my presence was showing them that you can grow older without fear,” she says. “It’s important to show the fashion world that we exist and that women of all ages should be represented.”

Now 73, Rosa has modeled for clothing brands, cosmetics, and magazine editorials, with a highlight being her debut at São Paulo Fashion Week in 2022 as one of the oldest models on the catwalk. “I don’t feel old and I don’t think about getting old, because it’s a gift to be doing this in my 70s,” she says. “I love modeling because each job is a unique challenge that pushes me to give my best. It has made me a more confident person in all parts of my life.”

While her children are supportive of her work, Rosa finds joy in doing something for herself and has no plans to stop anytime soon. “I feel I have given a lot to others, and now it is my time,” she says. “I have plenty of dreams for the future and milestones I want to achieve, but the real beauty of maturity is knowing that anything is possible, at any age.”

Source: The Guardian