Today, the older generation isn’t just thriving in their later years, they’re flipping stereotypes, breaking barriers, and accomplishing incredible feats along the way. With our Oldie Index, we spotlight individuals who are defying ageism, one inspiring “senior moment” at a time.
Rowing In The Years
The field at last October’s Head of the Charles Regatta in Boston, rife with Olympic and collegiate talent, had a new super team to contend with: the Octogenarian 8. Led by Northeastern University professor Edward Wertheim, 80, the mixed crew of 80-somethings completed the three-mile race, albeit at a humble pace, as many of Wertheim’s undergraduate students cheered them on from shore.
Raising The Barre
It’s never too late to give a hobby another spin. Leon D’Aulnais, an 84-year-old Aussie, was a ballet fanatic in his 20s, but hung up his slippers in search of better-paying vocations. Fifty years later, after the curtains dropped on his career as a hairdresser, D’Aulnais found his way to a studio near his home in Noosa, north of Brisbane. Fellow dancers love him, and he’s not stopping anytime soon – “I will dance ’til I drop.”
Fresh Strokes
There’s nothing like recognition, even if it comes in your 90s. Isabella Ducrot, 94, spent her life in Rome surrounded by art, but only started painting seriously in her 50s. Her work, described as fresh, full of life and colour, hit the international scene in 2019; several more shows were planned. Though Ducrot lost her husband, Vicky, in 2022, she shows no signs of slowing – “I have never been so happy in my life,” she said.
Hangin’ Out
There’s no birthday gift like a world record. L.A.-based fitness influencer and former Mean Streets actress Annie Judis picked her 81st birthday to try a two-minute “dead hang,” becoming the first woman her age to accomplish the feat. It’s not her only record, either – Judis holds accolades for competitive rope skipping, planking and the farmer’s walk. “She motivates me,” her trainer says. “I’m 46 and I can’t do it.”
A version of this article appeared in the April/May 2025 issue with the headline ‘The Oldie Index’, p. 21.
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