Great-Grandmother/Influencer (with Daughter's Help) Becomes Media Darling
A Chat with Centenarian
Mildred Kirschenbaum
May 2024
Mildred Kirschenbaum
Photo Courtesy: Gayle Kirschenbaum
Photo Courtesy: Gayle Kirschenbaum
In May, Sanctuary celebrates motherhood/grandmotherhood as well as women helping women and collaboration, and this particular story checks all of those boxes!
Mildred Kirschenbaum is an unlikely media influencer. She started to make opinionated videos on a wide range of subjects when she was 99. Her daughter, Gayle, taught her how to shoot the raw footage. She then sends it from her home in Florida to Gayle in New York to be edited and uploaded. She has over 100,000 followers on TikTok and Instagram. Her videos have been featured on mainstream media outlets (like The Today Show) and have a celebrity following. The singer Jax wrote a song for Mildred and brought her onstage at a concert, where an audience of 20,000 sang "Happy Birthday" to her. The Kirschenbaum women subsequently collaborated on Mildred’s Mindset: Wisdom from a Woman Centenarian, a 76-page self-published book that melds anecdotes, photos, and life advice.
Carol Lippert Gray, associate editor, spoke with Mildred, who is just as candid and forthcoming on the phone as she is in her videos.
What’s it like to be a media influencer?
I want to act nonchalant, but it’s nice. But it’s also not important. You go through this life once. My attitude is not to put all my eggs in one basket. But ‘it’s nice’ is the straight answer.
Carol Lippert Gray, associate editor, spoke with Mildred, who is just as candid and forthcoming on the phone as she is in her videos.
What’s it like to be a media influencer?
I want to act nonchalant, but it’s nice. But it’s also not important. You go through this life once. My attitude is not to put all my eggs in one basket. But ‘it’s nice’ is the straight answer.
Were you always philosophical or did wisdom come later?
I believe I was always that way. I had a difficult childhood but not because of abuse. I came from a Depression family.
What do your children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren think of your being an author and celebrity?
They love it, especially when I was on with Jax (a young singer), onstage at the Amway Center [now the Kia Center]. My great-grandchildren went “ahhhhh.”
You obviously don’t have stage fright.
I have no stage fright, and I’ll tell you why. I worked in the nonprofit area for many years. I worked on the first cerebral palsy telethon and raised over $100,000. My knees knocked, but I got over it.
I believe I was always that way. I had a difficult childhood but not because of abuse. I came from a Depression family.
What do your children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren think of your being an author and celebrity?
They love it, especially when I was on with Jax (a young singer), onstage at the Amway Center [now the Kia Center]. My great-grandchildren went “ahhhhh.”
You obviously don’t have stage fright.
I have no stage fright, and I’ll tell you why. I worked in the nonprofit area for many years. I worked on the first cerebral palsy telethon and raised over $100,000. My knees knocked, but I got over it.
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You and Gayle travel a lot. Did you always have wanderlust?
I traveled with my husband. I always wanted to go to India, but he refused. I went with Gayle twice. And I had a travel agency. I’m glad my husband and I didn’t wait until we retired. We had Christmas clubs [a type of savings account], and one was for travel. He was the easiest person in the world to travel with. When I turned over in bed and looked at him, I knew I was with my best friend. On my first trip, I had so much luggage, including a wig box. I did learn to travel light. It makes life much better. Was it hard to learn to make your videos? Gayle showed me how. I’m blessed to be a quick learner. What’s the most important thing you want people to know about you? That’s a difficult question. Don’t be afraid of me. My attitude is right there. If I don’t know the answer to something, I will point blank say so. |
Mildred and Gayle (Selfie)
Photo Courtesy: Gayle Kirschenbaum |
And when you don't know the answer to something, Mildred advises...
Don’t be afraid to ask. I just called Apple because I couldn’t find something on my iPhone. They walked me through it.
When you go to the doctor, don’t be afraid to ask questions.
Where do you find sanctuary?
I have a two-bedroom villa on one floor, semi-attached. I’m lucky enough to have my own little villa. Some people feel they must get out. They have a can’t-stay-home mindset. I don’t feel that way. I move at my own pace and enjoy.
Don’t be afraid to ask. I just called Apple because I couldn’t find something on my iPhone. They walked me through it.
When you go to the doctor, don’t be afraid to ask questions.
Where do you find sanctuary?
I have a two-bedroom villa on one floor, semi-attached. I’m lucky enough to have my own little villa. Some people feel they must get out. They have a can’t-stay-home mindset. I don’t feel that way. I move at my own pace and enjoy.
Mildred Kirschenbaum was born in 1923 to Eastern European immigrants in Brooklyn, New York. She overcame the death of her infant brother to pneumonia in the days before penicillin and the attempted suicide of her father due to financial pressure during the Great Depression. She met her future husband when she was 17 and married less than a year later as he prepared to serve overseas during World War II. When he returned, they moved to Long Island, New York, where they had three children. They were married for 64 years. Mildred currently lives on the east coast of Florida. She has seven grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.
Gayle Kirschenbaum is an Emmy award-winning filmmaker, TV producer, writer, speaker, photographer, and forgiveness coach. Her acclaimed film Look at Us Now, Mother! is about the transformation of a highly charged mother/daughter relationship from hatred to love. Another film, A Dog’s Life: A Documentary, illustrates the bond between dogs and humans through Gayle’s experience with her own Shih Tzu. Her writing has been widely published, her photographs have been exhibited in this country and in Europe, and she’s actively involved in many industry organizations.
Gayle Kirschenbaum is an Emmy award-winning filmmaker, TV producer, writer, speaker, photographer, and forgiveness coach. Her acclaimed film Look at Us Now, Mother! is about the transformation of a highly charged mother/daughter relationship from hatred to love. Another film, A Dog’s Life: A Documentary, illustrates the bond between dogs and humans through Gayle’s experience with her own Shih Tzu. Her writing has been widely published, her photographs have been exhibited in this country and in Europe, and she’s actively involved in many industry organizations.
Learn more about Mildred's book by clicking the book cover below:
