The Original Gerber Baby Is 92 Years Old – See What She Looks like Today


Ann Turner Cook may not be a name you recognize at first but if you were to see her face, you would instantly recognize her. Of course, the face you would recognize is not from today, it is from 1927. She is the original and first official Gerber baby and today she is 92 years old.

You may be wondering what she looks like now and what she is doing.

Let’s take a look back in time to the 1920s in Westport, Connecticut. An artist by the name of Dorothy Smith wanted to sketch her neighbor’s five-month-old daughter. She didn’t know it at the time but by 1928, Gerber would be launching a contest to locate an official face to be used for marketing their company. The simple and unfinished sketch of Ann Turner Cook was submitted by Smith.

If Gerber awarded the prize to Smith, she promised to finish the image. Many submissions were coming in from all parts of the country and there were even some elaborate oil paintings included. It was the simplicity of Smith’s illustration, however, that caught the eye of the judges. They even preferred to keep it as a sketch so it was never necessary for Smith to complete the artwork. It was already exactly what they wanted.

If Gerber awarded the prize to Smith, she promised to finish the image. Many submissions were coming in from all parts of the country and there were even some elaborate oil paintings included. It was the simplicity of Smith’s illustration, however, that caught the eye of the judges. They even preferred to keep it as a sketch so it was never necessary for Smith to complete the artwork. It was already exactly what they wanted.

By the time 1931 rolled around, baby Cook had become the official trademark for Gerber. “The drawing became so instantly popular, I think, because it captures the look of an alert, happy, healthy baby,” Cook said. “I think all parents want that for their own baby.”

Even though the charcoal sketch was simplistic, there was a lot of controversy over the original Gerber baby. Many people said that the sketch was of Humphrey Bogart, who had a mother that was an artist. Others were saying it was Jane Seymour. There were even many people who said it was their own baby and as a result, Gerber spent a lot of time in and out of the courtroom.

It wasn’t until 1978 that Cook’s true identity was revealed.

Today, Cook is a retired English teacher who lives in Tampa, Florida. She has written a number of mystery novels and is a mother to 4 adult children. The children still find it amusing that their mother has such a famous past. According to a spokesman for Nestlé, who purchased Gerber in 2007, Cook is living out her golden years in a retirement community in Florida. “She loves spending time with her son and daughters,” Tortorella said, and is “as mentally sharp as ever.”

For the most part, Cook was not in the limelight in her younger years. She always wanted to keep a proper perspective on her fame.

“It’s not anything I did myself,” Cook said. “I’m more proud of having earned my master’s degree after 13 years as a housewife,” she added, confidently, “of having worked my way up to chairman of the English department of a large high school, and of my 29-year marriage.”

Cook turned 92 on November 21, 2018. Gerber honored the original face behind their brand with a picture of the adult Cook alongside a message on Facebook. It was a tribute to the face that was found on millions of products. “Happy birthday to the original Gerber baby, Ann Turner Cook!” they wrote. Her fans still love her all these decades later, too. “Still kinda look like your baby picture,” wrote one Facebook user. “Happy birthday sweet lady that made it happen for babies everywhere!”

“Still beautiful,” contributed another. “She looks great for 92!”

Cook even regained some of her original fame when she met the 2018 poster baby for Gerber, Lucas Warren. He was also the first ‘spokesbaby’ from Gerber for down syndrome. They were captured in a photo shoot and Inside Edition even ran a news piece on the meeting.

At 92 years of age, Cook is a great-grandmother and an accomplished woman. Most people, however, will know her as the face that smiles back from the Gerber packages found on the grocery store shelves.


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