Maye Musk is a supermodel and dietitian. She is best known as the mother of the business magnate and investor Elon Musk.
Who is Maye Musk?
Maye Musk has been a model for over 50 years. She appeared on the covers of magazines, including Women’s Day, Time magazine health edition, Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue, and international editions of Vogue. Maye holds Canadian, South African, and American citizenship.
Early Life and Career
Maye Musk was born on April 19, 1948, in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada, to Dr. Joshua Norman Haldeman, an amateur archeologist and a chiropractor, and Winnifred Josephine. She is a twin and one of five children.
In 1950, Maye’s family moved to Pretoria, South Africa. Her parents were adventurous since they flew Maye and her siblings around the world in a prop plane in 1952. For over ten years, they spent a lot of time roaming the Kalahari desert in search of its fabled Lost City of the Kalahari. Speaking of her parents, this is what Maye said “My parents were very famous, but they were never snobs.”
Maye was a finalist in the 1969 Miss South Africa beauty competition. She married Errol Musk in 1970, a South African engineer she met in high school, and together they had three children: Elon Musk, Kimbal Musk, and Tosca Musk. Elon was named after her American grandfather, John Elon Haldeman, born in Illinois.
Maye divorced Errol Musk in 1979. Elon decided to live with his father two years later after the divorce. Four years later, Kimbal joined Elon. Years later, Elon decided to move to Canada just after graduating from high school. In 1989, six months later, Maye moved to Canada with Tosca.
Later Life
Maye continued her modeling career in Canada and the United States. She made an appearance in a Beyonce video ‘Haunted,’ in Revlon ads, and on boxes of Special K cereal. In 2011, Maye appeared nude on the cover of New York magazine with a fake pregnant belly and also nude on the cover of Time magazine for a health issue.
In 2012, Maye appeared on the cover of Elle Canada and was featured in advertisement campaigns for Target and Virgin America. She became CoverGirl’s oldest spokesmodel in September 2017, at age 69, which one news story reported as “making history.” In 2012, at age 74, Maye appeared on the cover of the annual issue. She became the oldest Sports Illustrated swimsuit model to date.
Aside from modeling, Maye works as a dietitian, giving presentations worldwide. She wrote a memoir titled A Woman Makes a Plan: Advice for a Lifetime of Adventure, Beauty, and Success (2019).
On May 8, 2021, Maye Musk appeared alongside her son Elon the day before Mother’s Day.