5 unique facts about Elon Musk's mother Maye Musk as an author turned model

Maye Musk, best-selling author and mother of tech billionaire Elon Musk, recently celebrated her 77th birthday. With a career of over 50 years as an author and model, Maye recently launched the Hindi edition of her memoir ‘Jab Aurat Sochti Hai’, a translation of ‘A Woman Makes a Plan’.

Maye began modeling at the age of 15 in Pretoria, South Africa. At the age of 60, she was photographed on four billboards in Times Square and also had her face on magazine covers, including Vogue, Marie Claire and Elle. She modelled in her 70s with Covergirl for four years and then with Dior Beauty Ambassador, which eventually turned her into a 'Supermodel'.

Her book 'A Woman Makes a Plan: Advice for a Lifetime of Adventure, Beauty, and Success' is published in 31 languages, including Hindi, Spanish, German, Japanese, etc. In the book, she shares her life experiences on career, family, health and adventure for women across the world. The book has been sold in over 100 countries.

She started interning at a hospital at age 34 to gain experience on diets for chronic disease. There, she received a scholarship to work with colostomy patients and obtain a Master of Science degree. To obtain her second master's degree, she returned to Canada at age 41 and obtained a Master of Science degree in Nutritional Science, this time from the University of Toronto. After seeing her determination, she was conferred with a PhD, Doctor of Dietetics, by the University of Free State. 

She wrote the exams thrice, once in Afrikaans language and twice she passed on the first attempt. While the first one was in Metrication, the last two were for specialization in Imperial Measurements.

Maye has spoken about health in different countries, including Melbourne, Kiev, Budapest, Beirut, Cannes and Stockholm. Maye's engagement request and CAA speakers increased since the release of her book. She has been vocal about helping medical professionals with conducting their business. This has also led to her being the first Representative of the Consulting Dietitians of Southern Africa.