We all know who Cindy Joseph is… right? Cindy is the model you see all the time in commercials, ads, etc. Cindy is middle- aged and has gray hair. She has been the spokesperson for many products and most of us will recognize her image even if we do not know her name.

What makes her so amazing is her willingness to talk and discuss her accomplishments with people she does not even know.

I started this blog and a few more. I am also an aspiring model and, I must add,  a huge fan of Cindy. I wrote qa story about her and the amazing thing is she responds with comments and advice to my readers.

Cindy really is an amazing person and it’s hard to believe that she finds the time for us, but she does.

Cindy Joseph has responded to every comment that readers have added and I think that is totally awesome!

Below are some comments she posted on another entry, I just wanted to share her comments withe everyone who may have not seen the original post.

Hello everyone,

I am Cindy Joseph, the Classic Ford model.

I accidentally discovered this blog after a friend suggest I google myself. It was quite fun to see this article you posted. I am not sure how this whole thing works, however I will post this letter in hopes it is read by those who posted their comments here.
Firstly, thank you for your lovely comments about me. I remember working with Joachime. He is a talented Creative Director and I enjoyed relating with him very much.He is forward thinking with great vision. It was a pleasure working with him for Ann Taylor. I can understand the points he made. It is often very much like what he explained.
However, I am compelled to set the record straight on this little controversy. The original article was accurate.
It’s very simple. In 1999 I was standing on a street corner in the east village of Manhattan. I was approached by a casting agent looking for someone to model for a D&G campaign photographed by Steven Meisel. I thought it was a joke, having been in the business for 25 yrs. I had worked with top models and celebrities around the world. . I could not imagine someone was asking ME to model. Long story short, I did the shoot for D&G. It came out about 5 months later. I was approached again within a month for another advertising shoot and then a producer suggested I go to Ford. I have now been modeling for 10 years. That’s my story in a nutshell!
Thanks for your attention and thank you again for being interested. I believe that women my age, being represented in todays fashion, beauty advertising, clearly indicates that e western societies prejudices about aging are changing! So far, I have experienced life gets better as time goes by!! the old paradigm does not work for the Baby Boomers. We have never accepted the status quo and we are continuing to reinvent every decade of our lives. Lets continue the revolution!

Regards to all,
Cindy

__________________

Cindy,
I hope you read this because I want you to know how you have inspired me. I am 45 and have been grey since my twenties. I bought into the myth that only youth is beautiful. I agonized over it. I battled with hair dyes for years. One day several years ago I saw you in an ad. I thought “that is the most beautiful woman I have ever seen” . It inspired me to let my own hair go grey. This is turn opened a whole way of thinking for me. It literally changed my life. I embraced who I am. I feel more free and beautiful than ever. (And it all began with you in an advertisement!)
Thanks for being an inspiration.
Kimberly
North Carolina USA

____________

Kimberly,

Thank you so so much for sharing your story with me. I am thrilled that my image could inspire you to go as nature made you. Its time that all women find there own unique look right!
Yahoo!
I want to share you story with others and let the inspiration spread!!
I recently met Diana Jewell the author of Going Gray Looking Great. Check it out at http://www.goinggraylooinggreat.com
Lots of silver beauties sharing their stories and a great event this June in NY!

All the best
Cindy

the Cindy Joseph post can be found here

In the year of reality modeling and talent shows, another pops up that involves kid modeling and child stars. They may be running out of ideas and hosts one would think after seasons and seasons filled with “Top Model”, “Project Runway” (which I love BTW) and “all the other Top Model type shows”.

I also must mention that I watch “find me a mate” type shows, such as “Rock of Love”, “I love NY”, and “Flavor of Love”. I think the shows are just too funny as the casts involved try to convince each other and the world that they are there purely for LOVE and not stardom. No one ever mentions that these shows are cast through auditions and filled with wanna be stars and starletts. 1 season, cool… 2 seasons is understandable, but 3 seasons? come on now producers.. move on… that fool will never find Love. Actually, I watched Flavor of Love 3 last night.

Anyway, getting back to the Child modeling / talent show Reality series “I know my kids a star”.

The VH1 show is hosted by Danny Bonaduce. “I know my kids a star” puts parent against parent and child against child in a kid modeling / acting / talent competition to win the prize.

Do you want this guy to mentor your kids?

Yep, not a typo, Danny is back in reality TV land again… this time he is back as a role model. Last time we saw Danny, he was angry, depressed, addicted to sex and drugs. So what better role model for the star struck youngsters than this aging, addict son, of a old hit series… the Partridge Family? Hey, I can’t think of a better role model… NOT.

The TV guy has this to say… Someone pick me up off the floor, Danny Bonaduce will have a reality series in which he mentors children. VH1 will offer “I Know My Kid’s a Star,” starting at 10 p.m. March 20.

Bonaduce will help identify standout child performers, then advise their parents on how to help the young talent. The eight-week series will feature 10 parent-child teams in an elimination contest.

Here’s the setup from VH1: “The kids will need to have talent, and the parents will need to have the smarts to navigate showbiz without ruining their child’s career or life. The realities of the business become clearer, as each week Danny will eliminate one parent/child team that just won’t make it in the cutthroat world of Hollywood.”

Gee, wouldn’t you rather watch a rerun of “The Partridge Family”?

I watched the show last night and found it to be in “very poor taste”… not that reality TV is ever in “good taste”, but it seems a bit cruel to put kids into a situation where they get humiliated on TV by the actions of their own nutty parents or by a horrible performance.

There is nothing wrong with ambitious kids and strong willed parents pushing them to success, casting calls and auditions, but unfortunately, the reality TV arena is all about controversy and stirring the pot. Without knockdown brawls in the “reality” house, the show is not much fun for viewers and getting kids involved in the backstabbing is GOING TOO FAR.

Other opinions of this ohh, so, so, so bad reality TV show…

Pity the kids on ‘I Know My Kid’s a Star’

The best hope for “I Know My Kid’s a Star” is that some viewers will think it’s so bad, it’s interesting.

But this competition among wanna-be child stars and their wanna-be stage parents isn’t bad in the kind of way where everyone can sit down afterward, put a few straws in a milkshake and have a good laugh.

It’s bad in a much creepier way.

At its worst, and “worst” is not just one fleeting moment, it’s cynical. It lures you in with the reassuring promise that it’s going to steer the contestants away from the snake pit of child stardom and then can’t wait to showcase painful scenes of overbearing parents and uncomfortable children.

I am not alone here I think in thinking that the child model /kid talent / reality tv series hosted by Danny may be a bit unhealthy for kids who are serious about showbiz