Two years ago, Emmy-award winning filmmaker Gayle Kirschenbaum aimed a video camera at her mother and asked her what it was like turning 99. Mildred Kirschenbaum’s response , posted on her daughter’s Instagram feed, went viral.
Before long, Gayle was posting almost daily video clips about their lives together, with her spunky extroverted mother emerging as the star. In her Brooklyn accent, Mildred shares tips on longevity, words of wisdom, computer repair advice, even her chicken soup recipe. One video shows Mildred , her face painted red, white and blue, dancing on the Fourth of July. In another, announcing her recovery from “(expletive)” COVID, she drops an “F” bomb.
Faster than you can say “Kardashian,” the Boca Raton social media centenarian blew up into a bonafide “granfluencer,’’ amassing 114,000 followers and securing brand deals with Oceania Cruises, exercise-machine maker Nobol and Clear , a service that speeds travelers through security airport lines.
A common refrain kept showing up in comments by her followers: Mildred should write a book — and we’ll help pay for it!