Ann Turner Cook, the original Gerber baby model, celebrated her 89th birthday on Friday, Nov. 20.
In 1928, Gerber held a contest to search for a baby's image to represent their food advertisement. Cook was drawn by her artist neighbor Dorothy Hope Smith as an entry. The image which was described as a "simple charcoal sketch of a tousle-haired, bright-eyed cherub of a baby with endearing pursed lips" was chosen by the judges as the winner, according to Fox 5. The image still remains as the trademark of Gerber, which became recognizable worldwide.
Ann Turner Cook, the original Gerber baby, turns 89 https://t.co/R0ND42zGog pic.twitter.com/2Zh3JHmr5H
— FOX 11 Los Angeles (@myfoxla) November 21, 2015
"Her drawing competed with elaborate oil paintings, but the judges fell in love with the baby face Smith drew, and when they chose it as the winner, they insisted that the simple illustration remain a sketch," Gerber said, according to the New York Daily News. It was made the official trademark for Gerber after two years, but it was only revealed that Cook was the model behind the image in 1978.
Cook is a mystery novel writer and a former English teacher, according to 9 News.
The babies who appear in Gerber commercials today are professional models handled by professional agencies.
