From Eastwood to Kissinger: seniors blazing a trail for Biden

Paris – As US President Joe Biden launches a bid for a second term that would keep him at the White House well into his 80s, we look other people who remained top of their game into their twilight years:

– Iris Apfel, 101 –

The centenarian style icon from the New York borough of Queens, immediately recognisable by her oversized owlish glasses, helped renovate the interior of the White House for nine presidents, from Harry Truman to Bill Clinton. 

These days the self-described “geriatric starlet”, whose impressive collection of couture and bric-a-brac accumulated over seven decades was the subject of an exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum in 2015, zips around between shows with the occasional aid of a wheelchair.

“Don’t let age and numbers frighten you” is her advice.

– Henry Kissinger, 99  –

The controversial Cold War strategist, who towered over US foreign policy in the late 1960s and 1970s, continues to play geopolitical oracle well into his hundredth year.

He was beamed into discussions at this year’s World Economic Forum in Davos via video link, where he offered his views on the war in Ukraine. 

The apostle of realpolitik has also just brought out a book on leadership.

– Li Ka-shing, 94 –

The Hong Kong billionaire dubbed “Superman” for his business acumen started out his working life sweeping floors in a factory.

He went on to found the conglomerate CK Hutchinson, a logistical, retail and telecommunications giant.

Li retired as chairman in 2018 but continues to be a savvy tech investor, with shares in companies such Meta, Spotify and Zoom.

– Clint Eastwood, 92  –

Sixty years after he became a Hollywood legend as the poncho-wearing cowboy in Sergio Leone’s classic spaghetti westerns, Eastwood is still delivering the goods.

Into the 2000s his box-office big-hitters include multi-Oscar winning father-daughter boxing saga “Million Dollar Baby” and “American Sniper” about a Navy SEALS sharp shooter in Iraq.

In his most recent films the indefatigable nonagenarian is still doubling up as star and director, with “The Mule” (2018) and “Cry Macho” (2021).

– Jane Goodall, 89  –

Still defending chimps and the planet well into her 80s, Goodall and her famous ponytail enjoyed another kind of fame last year when she was immortalised — as a Barbie doll. 

The British primatologist who shot to fame in the 1960s through her fieldwork among chimps in Tanzania, travels 300 days a year promoting conservation and climate awareness.

– Zhang Shun, 86 –

China’s favourite granddad is an 86-year-old retired electricity worker, who has become a hit on social media as he pounds the concrete in marathons across China.

In his latest feat at Beijing’s 2022 marathon, when footage of Zhang’s slow but steady trot went viral, the 86-year-old grinned his way over the finish line after six hours — an under-par performance, he later said.

– Nancy Pelosi, 83 –

Former US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, tore up the script when she ripped up Donald Trump’s speech to Congress in one of many standout moments in a high-flying career.

Just before her second stint as House speaker wound up last year, the scrappy stiletto wearer sparked the ire of China with a controversial visit to Taiwan.

– Annie Ernaux, 82 –

The first French woman ever to win the Nobel Prize for literature in 2022 gave a stinging acceptance speech saying she wrote “to avenge my people”, referring to her working-class roots.

Just days after the ceremony, the queen of the fictionalised autobiography was out on the streets in Paris to protest against the high cost of living.

– Navi Pillay, 81 –

South African judge Navi Pillay won fame five decades ago as a plucky young lawyer of Tamil origin fighting for the rights of Nelson Mandela and other activists incarcerated by the white supremacist apartheid regime.

Since then Pillay has led a tribunal into the 1994 Rwandan genocide and served six years as UN High Commissioner for Human Rights but at 81 she is embroiled in her trickiest investigation yet: probing the root causes of the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians on behalf of the UN.

Israel has dismissed the inquiry, calling it a “witch hunt”.

– Paul McCartney, 80 –

Long after he was singing about life at 64, the ex-Beatle was rocking the Glastonbury festival last year, where he was belting out classics with Bruce Springsteen to a star-struck 100,000-strong crowd.

“Macca” was also back in the spotlight with the recent release on Disney+ of its widely praised mini-series “Get Back” on The Beatles, by “Lord of the Rings” director Peter Jackson.