When Jada Pinkett-Smith shared the photo of her 61-year-old mother coming out of the water at a beach and I saw her abs glisten in the sunlight, I almost choked on my layered chocolate cake. I told myself after being inspired by her incredible body that after I finished said delectable cake (can’t be wasteful!) that I was going to get back on my workout grind this week so that when I turn 60 (God willing), I can look at least decent if I can’t look like Ms. Adrienne Banfield-Jones.
But with her in mind, here are 10 other women over 50 and 60 who inspire us to want to keep our bodies right and tight because they look oh so amazing.
Angela Bassett
Ladies and gents, take cover, because Angela Bassett is putting on a gun show! The 56-year-old actress has been flexing on folks since she showcased her toned form in What’s Love Got To Do With It? and she hasn’t missed a beat more than 20 years later.
Christie Brinkley
After four husbands, three kids and a storied career as a top supermodel, 60-year-old Christie Brinkley still manages to turn heads. She definitely did that when she posed in a one-piece on the cover of People magazine earlier this year:
Tina Knowles
After ditching her cheating husband, Mathew Knowles, 60-year-old Tina Knowles finally put herself first and as a result, she is slaying left and right, including at daughter Solange’s recent wedding.
Helen Mirren
Sixty-nine and aging like a fine wine. The Academy Award winning actress’s body is so on point that she needed a body double for a recent film who is 39 years old! How does she do it?
“I do exercise but, honestly, it’s not particularly a beauty thing. As you get older, you have to keep up your energy levels. I’m very lazy. If I start getting out of puff when I go upstairs, I’ll force myself into minimalistic exercise.”
Madonna
Madonna could crack a walnut with those thighs. And while I’m not so crazy about the 56-year-old’s antics these days (she’s trying too hard to look hip), I’m crazy about that muscle tone!
Adrienne-Joi Johnson
The 51-year-old Baby Boy and House Party star has taken a break from acting to focus on being a successful health and wellness coach. She helps people, celebrities included (like Gabrielle Union) eat better, feel better and look better (as in losing weight). Clearly she knows what she’s doing…
Lynn Whitfield
Lynn is still looking lovely at the age of 61, and her skin is glowing too! She told EBONY a few years ago that papaya soap, exfoliation, sun block and microdermabrasion is the reason she’s looking like a million bucks after all these years.
Wendy Williams
Not everyone may like Wendy Williams, but I think we can all agree that the 50-year-old talk show host looks better than she ever has. She dropped 30 pounds to ring in her 50th birthday right and did so by learning how to control her portions and exercising. Peep that teeny tiny waist!
Beverly Johnson
The former cover girl and model is now 62 and doesn’t look a day over 40. She still has people pulling a Martin Payne saying, “Heeeeeey Ms. Trinidad!”
Sade Adu
We’ll never know how Sade manages to look so good and still sound exactly the same after being one of music’s most beloved singers for more than 30 years (she is super reclusive, so good luck with finding out that), but whatever she is doing, it’s working!