After she wrote the two books, Didion expressed the need to do something new.

"I'm feeling very strongly the need to do something in another vein," she said, in another interview in 2011. "I don't know what that vein will be, but I want to find it."

This campaign for Céline certainly marks an entry into new territory for the novelist, although it is not the first time a big-name fashion or beauty brand has sought to reach out to a more mature calibre of poster girl.

Most recently, Dame Helen Mirren, 69, was selected as the face of L'Oreal Paris alongside 75-year-old Jane Fonda, while 69-year-old Charlotte Rampling has modelled for Nars lipstick.

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Photos: Rex Features, Getty Images

Literary icon Joan Didion is the new face of fashion house Céline