AGE DEFIANT
Marion McMullen looks at the stars for whom age is just a number...
1 MOVE WITH MARY is a series of online exercise videos launched by Olympic gold medallist Lady Mary Peters to help older people who risk health problems due to lockdown inactivity. Lady Mary, who turns 81 next month, won the pentathlon at the Munich Games in 1972 and says: “Hopefully we can create a little virtual community of what I’m calling my ‘golden oldies’ all doing these daily workouts together.”
2 FITNESS guru Diana Moran found TV fame in the 1980s as the Green Goddess and the 81-year-old has been enjoying a comeback helping older people stay fit during the coronavirus crisis by offering fitness sessions on BBC Breakfast.
She has said:
“Age is mind over matter – if you don’t mind, it doesn’t matter.”
3 HOLLYWOOD star Jane Fonda brought out her first workout video in 1982. The 82-year-old is still helping people to stay in shape and brought out two fitness videos for pensioners in 2010. “You don’t have to accept any limits beyond what your body allows,” she says.
4 CHER also brought out fitness videos in the 1990s and added a touch of glamour to the workouts by often sporting lacy leotards. The 74-yearold bounced back onto our screens for Mamma Mia 2: Here We Go Again in 2018 and performed at the final of America’s Got Talent last year.
5 ROLLING STONE singer Sir Mick Jagger turns 77 next month and still has all the moves. He was back on stage three months after having heart surgery and resumed the band’s tour with classic hit Street Fighting Man.
6 TINA TURNER is also famous for her energetic stage performances. She turned 80 last year and announced “I look great. I feel good. I have gone through some very serious sicknesses that I am overcoming. It’s like having a second chance at life. I am happy to be an 80-year-old.”
7
NEWSREADER and presenter Angela Rippon famously revealed a talent for dancing on the Morecambe And Wise Show Christmas Show in 1976 and still stays in shape. The 75-year-old presented the
BBC series
How To Stay Young, looking at ways that people can turn back the body clock.
8 ACTION man Arnold Schwarzenegger was just 20 when he won the Mr Universe bodybuilding championships. The Terminator star, who turns 73 next month, still keeps fit and can often be found on his bike. He has ridden all over the world and even took a trip on a “Boris bike” when he visited London in 2011.
9 CAMILLA, Duchess of Cornwall, also turns 73 next month and recently revealed she has taken up ballet and has been practising her poses and positions to keep fit during lockdown. She is also a fan of Strictly Come Dancing and has taken to the floor with judges Len Goodman and Craig Revel Horwood in the past and visited the BBC set.
10 OSCAR winner Rita Moreno, below, won her Academy Award in 1962 for West Side Story and the 88-year-old performer wore the same dress that she wore back then for the 2018 Oscars.
She began dancing when she was nine and says she still does the salsa around the house.