Babette Hughes

Babette Hughes is a centenarian author, journalist, and former fashion model whose life story reads like a cinematic journey through the 20th and 21st centuries. At 103 years old, Babette remains one of the most vibrant and prolific voices in contemporary memoir, having authored ten books—including her celebrated trilogy The Hat, The Scarf, and The Necklace—all written after the age of eighty.

Born into the secrets of the Prohibition era, Babette’s early life was defined by the sudden loss of her father, a mystery she eventually solved by uncovering the truth in dusty library archives: he was a bootlegger murdered by the Mafia. This search for truth became the catalyst for her career as a writer and a "lioness" of independent thought.

Throughout her century of living, Babette has been a witness to—and a participant in—history. She modeled high-fashion hats during the Great Depression, navigated the political storm of the 1968 presidential campaign as a liaison for Hubert Humphrey, and used the transformative power of psychoanalysis to reinvent her life during an era when women were expected to remain silent.

Today, Babette is a vocal advocate for "aging with attitude." A self-described "hospice graduate" who survived a terminal diagnosis at 101, she continues to lift weights twice a week, meditate daily, and dictate her books despite the total loss of her eyesight to macular degeneration. Her work is a testament to the idea that life doesn’t get easier—we just get better at it.

When she isn't "filling the page" with new stories, Babette can be found enjoying a glass of wine, playing cards with friends of all ages, or sharing her original recipes for Fish Soup and Borscht. She lives in Austin, Texas, where she continues to prove that reinvention has no expiration date.