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World’s Oldest Working Model Dies at 97

Against the odds, Daphne Selfe’s career took off in her seventies.

Tamilore OshikanluBreaking News Intern

PublishedMar 25, 2026, 5:38 PM EDT

UpdatedMar 25, 2026, 5:38 PM EDT

Updated Mar 25, 2026, 5:38 PM EDTPublished Mar 25, 2026, 5:38 PM EDT

The fashion world has lost one of its most enduring icons.

Daphne Selfe, widely regarded as the world’s oldest working model, has died at 97. The British model passed away on Saturday at a residential care home, her family confirmed to the New York Times.

In a tribute posted to Instagram on Tuesday, her family honored a life that defied the fashion industry’s standards on aging.

“She rose peacefully and purposely towards the light, as only the sensational model in her knew how,” they wrote, adding that she died “in the sunshine of a beautiful spring equinox afternoon.”

Selfe’s final modeling appearance came as recently as June 2025, when she attended a Vogue luncheon at Royal Ascot’s Ladies’ Day—an event that neatly captured her three great loves: “fashion, people, and horses,” her family said.

Her career, remarkably, spanned more than 75 years—but it didn’t follow a straight line.

Selfe first entered the industry at 21 after being spotted by a fashion scout while working at a department store. She went on to win a competition that landed her on the cover of a local magazine, launching her early modeling career.

But she stepped away in 1954 after marrying television studio manager Jim Smith, shifting her focus to raising their children. Even then, she never fully disappeared from the public eye—appearing as a muse for sculptor Barbara Hepworth, starring in a Kellogg’s Cornflakes commercial, and even making appearances in James Bond films, including Octopussy and A View to a Kill.

It wasn’t until after her husband’s death in 1997 that Selfe returned to modeling in earnest—and this time, her career only grew.

Her comeback began at London Fashion Week, walking for British label Red or Dead. What started, as she later put it, as “something to do” quickly became a second act that eclipsed her first.

“I thought it might stop me moping,” she told The Telegraph in 2018.

Within a year, she had signed with Models 1, one of London’s top agencies, and began booking campaigns for major fashion houses, including Dolce & Gabbana. Selfe often said her greatest professional achievements came later in life.

“I’ve had more modeling success since I was 70 than I ever did when I was 20,” she told BBC Three Counties Radio.

Part of that success, she said, came from embracing what the industry once tried to erase—her age. Letting her natural gray hair grow out, she found, made her “more striking,” both physically and mentally.

Her approach to beauty remained similarly unfussy. In one of her final interviews, she credited “good old Nivea” and a simple routine—always removing makeup before bed—as the foundation of her longevity.

Her other secret was even simpler: vegetables.

“And one should always eat plenty of vegetables,” she said, naming broccoli as a favorite.

Beyond her own career, Selfe also worked to open doors for others. She launched a modeling academy aimed at women of all ages, encouraging confidence in an industry that has historically excluded them.

She is survived by her children—Mark, Claire, and Rose—as well as several grandchildren.

In their final tribute, her family wrote that her legacy would endure.

“She will continue to inspire, always and forever.”

Tamilore OshikanluBreaking News Intern

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