She calls it the beauty of ageing (or not caring what anyone else thinks) – midway through her 40s, Annmarie O’Connor finally feels at ease with herself and her style, so much so she’s just signed a modelling contract. Welcome to the new ‘middle age’.

Kentucky octogenarian Helen Ruth Van Winkle’s brash online persona has turned the internet’s obsession with young people on its head, writes Margaret Jennings.