The new "Germany's next top model" season starts with a special feature: the oldest candidate is 68 years old. Some women are already showing in the modeling industry that a career beyond 60 can be successful.
On February 3, 2022, the time has finally come: The 17th season of "Germany's next top model" starts at 8:15 p.m. on ProSieben. Three more mature women made it into the cast this time: At 68, Barbara is the oldest candidate in "GNTM" history - followed by Lieselotte (66) and Martina (50). "I've always wanted to model and now older people can finally apply. So I thought maybe it could be something now," Barbara told the news agency spot on news during the shooting on Mykonos. Some ladies have proven that you can be successful in the modeling industry even at an older age.
Carmen Dell'Orefice
The 90-year-old American Carmen Dell'Orefice worked in the modeling business as a teenager, but decided in the 1950s to give up modeling. It was not until the late 1970s that she continued her career. In the 90s, she walked the catwalk for Target and did shoots for Vogue and Harper's Bazaar magazines. She once explained to the latter in an interview about her future as a model, jokingly: "I plan to be 105, then I'll see if I can look for another job."
Eveline Hall
Eveline Hall (76), born in Greifswald and raised in Hamburg, started her career as a ballet dancer. Hall was also seen as a showgirl in Las Vegas and on various theater stages. In 2011, at the age of 65, she ran for designer Michael Michalsky (54) and from then on she continued her modeling career. Your beauty secret? "I've only ever done a lot of sport," she explained to "Manager Magazin" in May 2021. "All these liftings and injections don't convince me. You can always tell if someone has had something done." She explains her career in old age as follows: "As a young woman I was pretty, but a bit mediocre. No Romy Schneider. In old age with the gray hair I became a guy."
Pat Cleveland
The 71-year-old US model Pat Cleveland actually wanted to start a career in design. But she was discovered as a model and shot for "Vogue" and "Essence" in 1970. She then ran for Valentino, Oscar de la Renta and Thierry Mugler. After dedicating her time to her two children, Cleveland returned to modeling in the '90s. In 2003 she even walked the catwalk with daughter Anna at Paris Fashion Week. In 2015, the mother-daughter duo was part of a campaign for Lanvin. In 2019, at the age of 68, Cleveland walked for various designers at New York and Paris Fashion Week.
Daphne Selfe
Daphne Selfe (93) was discovered as a model in 1949 at the age of 21. But it was only later that she became really successful, modeling for Wolfgang Joop (77) in 2010, among other things. She has graced countless international campaigns and walked the world's catwalks. Selfe now passes on her knowledge of business and modeling to interested young models, regardless of age, in online courses. In 2014, the British woman was included in the Guinness Book of World Records as the oldest professional model.
Iris Apfel
The New Yorker Iris Apfel (100) actually worked as an interior designer and blossomed into a fashion icon thanks to her extravagant outfits, which have already had an exhibition. Her signature piece are glasses in all sizes. In 2019 she finally signed a contract with the model agency IMG and since then she has been able to call supermodels like Kate Moss (48) her colleagues. "I don't think a number should define whether I'm working or not," she once told Women's Wear Daily. "Retirement is worse than death."
