Gangsta Gran Insta star! Meet the 69-yearold with a new career
Maureen O’Neill, 69, set out to make some special memories with her granddaughter… being an internet star with thousands of followers is just an added extra!
Iwas hanging up some new donations when a customer stopped in her tracks.
‘Are you…?’ she asked.
‘ You are! Yes! You’re that granny from the internet,’ she exclaimed loudly – so the whole shop heard.
I felt myself blush. You see getting recognised in the street, the supermarket or even in the Age UK shop in Hinckley, Leicestershire, where I live, is something I’m just getting used to.
Who would have thought a 69-year-old granny like me could become an internet star? Apart from using Facebook to stay in touch with my friends, I’m not even that techno savvy….
It all began about a year ago, with my granddaughter, Livie.
She has always been the apple of my eye. The daughter of my son, Mark, and his wife, Anna, and my only grandchild, I have doted on her since the day she was born in July 2007.
When she was a baby I would stay a couple of days every week to look after her while her mum was at work.
And, as she grew, she would come to me for sleepovers and general granny fun. The ‘fun’ changed as she got older – it used to be all dollies’ tea parties and playing school.
‘If there’s one thing I’ve learned’ ‘Being open to new ideas keeps you young!’
The hardest thing was having to stay away from Livie
Then it turned into shopping, baking and watching TV together.
But in June 2017, my sunny retirement – after years as a cash office manager – all became a bit muddy.
I was diagnosed with cancer – lymphoma to be precise, a cancer of the blood.
It meant I had to have months of chemotherapy. The chemo was hard-going – there would be good weeks and bad weeks. But I was lucky I always had my son, Mark, or my daughter, Sheila, to come along with me.
It was a fight but the hardest thing was having to stay away from Livie – she was only 10 when I was diagnosed. After chemo, your immune system is weakened.
Specialists advised against being around too many people – they recommended avoiding public transport, only going to the shops when it was quiet and to be wary around schoolchildren, who notoriously mix with lots of other kids and come into contact with all sorts of viruses. It meant some adjustments.
When I felt well enough to go out, I’d nip to the late-night supermarket where it was super-quiet. Time with Livie was reduced to phone calls or FaceTime.
The chemo meant my hair fell out and I lost my sense of taste and one and a half stone in weight.
My friends told me my NHS wig looked good, and it was hard to tell the difference from my real hair. But I hated the idea of Livie seeing me unwell. I made sure she never saw me without my wig and only when I was having a good day.
My treatment finished in October 2017. It was then I decided I wanted to make some special memories for me and Livie. I was on the mend, my hair had grown back and she was visiting when she showed me a mobile app. ‘Tik what?’ I giggled.
‘Oh Gran,’ she laughed. ‘It’s TikTok, we can post our own video – it can be anything from 15 to 20 seconds long. Let’s make one…’
And so, we did! I suppose the cancer and facing my own mortality pushed me forward. At 12, Livie is bursting with life. I don’t want to be one of those old grannies who doesn’t understand the young.
That first time, in 2018, I let her dress me up – she made me look like the character, Where’s Wally.
The next time, Livie dug out a baseball cap, a body warmer and some chunky jewellery from my dressing table.
‘Gangsta Gran!’ announced Livie. Together we made a little ‘rap’. Who cares how silly I look, I thought to myself. I’d do anything to make Livie smile. And so began our internet journey.
Whenever Livie and I got together we would post a new video – sometimes up to three times a week. Livie would tell me what to do, how to stand and what to say. We tried all sort of ideas – from baking to rapping. I can’t move as fast as Livie – given she’s 57 years younger than me – I’m always a beat behind.
Once she made me try and say ‘chubby bunny’ while putting marshmallows in my mouth… it’s all very silly stuff. But perhaps that adds to our appeal. The fame has crept up on us. Livie phoned me one Sunday evening in 2019.
‘Have you seen how many views we’ve had?’ she said.
I logged on – 28,000! Yes, thousand. By the next morning it was 56,000. And in the past year, we have grown to 146,000 followers.
A few weeks ago, we were invited to London to record an advert for TikTok. You’ve got to laugh. There we were with youngsters who make a living posting on the internet and then there’s my granddaughter and me. Livie’s the real star – she’s artistic director and producer, I’m just her fall guy, or should that be fall Gran!