Yazemeenah Rossi is a 67-year-old fashion model who has been referred to as the ‘most beautiful grandmother in the world’ for years.

Rossi was born on 21 December 1955 in Corsica, France, and began her modeling career when she was in her early 30s.

She has also appeared as an actress in several movies, such as Timeless Beauty, Relevator, and The Grasslands.

According to Khaleej Times, “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.”

Before stepping foot into the modeling field, Yazemeenah used to work from – she made clothes, knit, and gave interior design services to her friends and other people in her not-so-big social circle.

”I was a mother of two kids at 20, working from home, making clothes, knitting, interior design for friends and private clients. I knew since teen that I would never work in an office or stay at the same place through all my life, so even at the time when raising my children I was very active and independent,” she told The Fashiongton Post in 2020.

So, how did she end up becoming a famous fashion model that too in her 30s when many people simply retire from modeling because apparently, this field is only for youngsters in their early 20s?

“One day someone needed a model because their model was in emergency at a hospital, and asked me if I could start right away that evening,” said Yazemeenah.

“I jumped into that because I simply love the unknown! I never worked outside my home and in front of the public before, so it seemed exciting to me, as well as made me smile.”

The mum of two, who’s also a grandma, said it was ironic because her mother always told her that she would never be a model as she couldn’t stand still for more than ten minutes.

“Thus, I started to work as a fit model. It was not glamorous at all at the beginning and was a hard first experience, though I kept my eyes wide open and saw an opportunity in it. It became better and better as more as I aged.”

Despite making her name in the industry and gaining recognition as the fittest supermodel of her age, Rossi believes modeling still remains a ‘field for the young.’

“There was a time, some years ago, when I started to think things would gradually begin to change and we’d start to see more older models, but that did not happen. I do believe that men and women have the same concerns about growing old, although men might talk less about it. Nobody likes to see their skin give in to gravity. At the same time, growing old is something beautiful because you become stronger with the passing of time,” she told VICE.

Until now, Yazemeenah has never had any surgical procedure done on her face to enhance her facial features and get younger-looking skin.

“I haven’t had any cosmetic surgery so far. The idea of going under the knife when I am perfectly healthy doesn’t make much sense to me,” she said.

Rossi, who will turn 68 this year, told Daily Mail that she has no plans to retire and will continue to work as a model until the end of her life.

“I will model until the end of my life…. But it’s not about modeling, it’s about witnessing, witnessing beauty, energy makes us alive.”