California cook Babette Davis served up a sizzling series of swimsuit photos on her Instagram account in honor of her 70th birthday.
The vegan chef and restaurant owner says she came up with the idea after seeing a photo of her younger self in a bathing suit and realizing she was aging like a fine wine.
“My daughter had sent some photos of she and myself [sic],” Davis told Yahoo Life. “I must have been in my early forties, maybe late thirties, and I noticed that I hadn’t really changed very much aesthetically. I thought, ‘well, for my 70th birthday, I’m gonna do a photoshoot in a bathing suit’.”
Davis then began a “Seven at Seventy” series, in which she shared one image per day during the week leading up to her Dec. 7 birthday. She sported a black tankini, headwrap, and sky-high heels — proving sexy doesn’t have an age limit.
The photos were met with endless compliments and praise. Users commented on how amazing Davis looked, expressing disbelief over the fact that she was turning 70.
“You are 70??? You are my inspiration! I bow down to you #newgoals,” wrote Dr. Jenn Mann, host of VH1’s “Couple’s Therapy” and “Family Therapy.”
Davis appreciated the positive messages, and shut down critics who argued women should stop wearing bikinis past a certain age.
“If you look good, you look good,” she said. “People need to stay in their lane. You don’t need to be worrying about my bikini.”
With more than 100,000 Instagram followers, Davis reached a large audience with her images. Though she regularly uses her platform to promote messages of body positivity to her users, she says she did not anticipate this particular photo series would attract the attention it did — nevermind go viral.
“People just really got into it, especially women,” she said. “You know for us it’s a big deal. We want to look good for as long as possible, but we need to care for ourselves, and we need to stop comparing ourselves to other people.”
Davis credits her sleek physique to her vegan diet, which she has followed for more than 20 years, as well as her fitness regimen. She says she has found working her core to be “massively important,” and admittedly wakes up at 2 a.m. to get some exercise in before work.
“Sometimes I get tired, but I have a lot of energy,” she said.
Refusing to view aging as a deterrent, Davis says she looks forward to challenging her body in the years to come.
“People get depressed about their age, but I’m so excited about every age I am,” she said. “What’s the next thing I’m going to be able to do? Am I going to be able to defy some odds?”
Judging by the looks of it, we’d say she’s already defying some serious odds! What do you think about the photo series? What are your favorite moves for keeping your body in shape?