Elon may be the most well-known of the Musk family, but it’s all because of his superstar mom who paved the way for him. At 73, Maye Musk is known as an international bestselling author, model, dietitian and speaker. Her book A woman Makes a Plan, Advice for a Lifetime of Adventure, Beauty and Success has been translated into 15 languages plus,and continues to make strides internationally.
Image on Twitter. Credit @mayemusk
It all started in 1850 when her parents decided to come from Canada to South Africa. During winter holidays, her family would pack enough supplies for two weeks and travel to the Kalahari desert in search of the desert’s rumoured Lost City. In an interview about her book, Maye said that they would sleep on the ground with sleeping bags and one cup of water to share between her and her twin sister.
Through her experiences in the desert, she learned survival skills and became fearless, both traits she also passed on to her children. Tosca, her daughter, became a filmmaker, Kimbal, her other son, became a restauranteur, and Elon has become the richest man in the world.
Maye Musk was also able to raise her kids with very little, and she didn’t see the need for luxuries. She survived by buying secondhand clothes for her children and used her dietitian education to make cheap, nutritious meals such as bean stews and peanut butter sandwiches. Had she raised her kids in the current inflationary economy, we know she would have easily been able to feed them with the specials and promotions like those on the Fortinos flyer.
In her book, she shares details about her marriage and the abuse she went through at the hands of her ex-husband. She gives encouragement to women in abusive relations, saying that “When you make a big change, it’ll be scary, but you can’t just stay in a bad situation.”
Although she struggled to make ends meet, Musk continued to work to keep her children fed and taken care of.
From a Miss South Africa contestant to a Super-model
You might remember her appearance on SNL last year. It was a treat for the audience and an introduction for many, but Maye has been turning heads since she was a young girl.
At 15, she started modelling and was later a finalist for Miss South Africa. For decades she worked as a print and runway model, but her most successful year started after 60. When she turned 60, Maye decided to stop coloring her hair, and her stylish white hair landed her modelling jobs with Virgin America, a New York Magazine cover and a cameo in Beyoncé’s “Haunted” music video.
Image on Instagram. Credit: @mayemusk
She also had four billboards in Time Square, many international magazine covers and commercials and was the “It Girl” in Vanity fair.
When she became an ambassador for Covergirl at 69, she said, “I think it gives hope to women as they age, they can continue to work and be relevant and confident and comfortable with themselves.” Maye Musk is not afraid of ageing and continues to work and live her best life.
The Dietitian and Social media maven
She’s not simply a gorgeous face, just so you know. Mother Maye has a Master’s degree in Dietetics as well as a Master’s degree in Nutritional Science.
She moved to Toronto in her early 40s, rewrote the exams to become a registered dietitian, worked as a research officer, and earned her second Master of Science in Nutritional Sciences from the University of Toronto.
Maye moved to San Francisco at the age of 48 to be closer to her children, who had graduated. There, again, she rewrote the dietetics exams to become a registered dietitian in the United States. She then relocated to NYC at the age of 51 and began a new life. At 64, she relocated to Los Angeles to assist Tosca with her twins, then returned to New York City.
Although she had to relocate several times, she received many awards for her work, including the Novus United Nations Global Goals Award for Excellence and Leadership in Good Health and Well-being.
Although she isn’t practising dietetics anymore, Maye Musk travels the world and gives talks about balancing family life, entrepreneurship, single parenting, ageing and gender equality.
She also uses social media to encourage women and to show marketers, advertisers and the general populace that it is never too late to make a fresh start.
