Baddie Winkle, 88, became a social media star at the age of 85. She now has 2.8 million followers on Instagram and is the face of Missguided.

“I remember being at school and being told to write an essay entitled, ‘When we are 80’. I had no idea what to write – I couldn’t imagine being that old. It was a pretty short essay...” In a makeshift studio at the Marriott Hotel, downtown Knoxville, where Stylist is shooting our cover, 88-year-old Instagram star Baddie Winkle (aka Helen Ruth van Winkle) titters with laughter. “Now I feel like I’ve done about everything there is to do in the world.”

To her ever-growing legion of followers, Baddie is a rainbow- hued celebration of living agelessly. In one post she’s pictured grinning widely in a lace-up miniskirt and T-shirt emblazoned with the words ‘Be a slut. Do whatever you want!’ In another (captioned ‘F*** BEING AGE APPROPRIATE’), she wears head-to-toe pink latex and casts a coquettish look at the camera.

It is, without doubt, an account and a persona dedicated to fun. It is also a savvy business model: the great-grandmother (today dressed in Jeremy Scott, standing on a skateboard and throwing peace signs) has expertly brokered her particularly kitsch brand of joie de vivre, turning what started out as a ‘just-for-fun’ Instagram account into a one-woman empire.

As well as partnering with brands including Missguided, Smirnoff and streetwear label Dimepiece, the day after our shoot Baddie is scheduled to film an ad for American TV channel Hulu. Her first book – Baddiewinkle’s Guide To Life – is due to publish in July and later in the year she has what she calls her biggest booking to the 88-year-old instagram star date – “But I can’t talk about that,” she says coyly.

Ever the professional, she arrives half an hour early, greeting the crew in her soft southern drawl. She enters as a mild- mannered lady and slowly adopts the Baddie persona, thanks to her preferred soundtrack of Drake and Justin Bieber.

“I’ve always been a bold dresser,” she says. “But this all started with my great- granddaughter, Kennedy. She came home from school one day and took a photo of me in my cut-off shorts, tie-dye shirt and marijuana leaf socks – I didn’t even know what they were,” she laughs. “Anyhow, she put it on Twitter. Within a week, the photo had gone viral and my life had changed. After that I became ‘Baddie’ – short for ‘Badass’.”

Nowadays, her success spans more than just red carpet appearances at the MTV Video Awards or the kudos of being able to claim Rihanna and Miley Cyrus as fans (“Oh, Miley is a wild child,” says Baddie, dotingly. “But also very down to earth. You would think she had no values, but she does. I found her to be a very good human being.”) She employs most of her family to work on the brand and has two attorneys who are dedicated to handling her varied business affairs.

“I’m going to carry on doing this for as long as I’m able,” she says. “The truth is I’m not 20 any more and I do get tired, but I never consider myself old. I just think you should always do things that keep you excited. My new career means I’m excited every day.”

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