Maye Musk on the cover of Chinese version of Tatler January 2024 issue. Photo: Tatler

At the age of 76, Maye Musk was recently recognized as a supermodel even though she had been modeling since she was 15 years old. Throughout her career, she posed for Vogue and Time, acted in Beyonce’s music video, and was the face of the makeup brand Revlon. She is also a nutritionist, having released her first lifestyle handbook – Feel Fantastic: Maye Musk’s Good Health Clinic in 1996. On her personal page, billionaire Elon Musk’s mother often gives advice and solutions. problem for fans.

When releasing a memoir about 70 years of her life in 2019, she said: “I used to accept misfortune, but luckily defeated fate in time and rediscovered the joy of life. Therefore, I want to share my experience.” personal experience, inspire those who are lost.”

Maye Musk lived an unhappy and difficult life for many years. She married Erroll Musk in 1970 and gave birth to three children: Elon Musk, Kimbal Musk and Tosca Musk. In an interview with Harper’s Bazaar in 2019, both she and Elon accused Erroll of emotional abuse. “My acquaintances all called him a ‘pig’ because he treated me so poorly in public. I was too scared to tell someone I made a mistake. He said I was stupid, ugly.” ugly, boring,” she said.

Maye Musk is famous for her luxurious and unconventional dressing sense. Photo: Maye Musk Instagram

According to Maye and Elon, Elon’s father is very rich but stingy, often not buying clothes for his children. The two divorced after nine years of marriage, when Elon Musk was eight years old, pushing mother and child to a life of deprivation and hardship. Maye and her children moved to Toronto, Canada from South Africa. In later interviews, Maye often used the phrase “survival” when recalling the most difficult 15 years. She told Vogue: “For a long time after the divorce, I was sick to my stomach. I was extremely scared that I wouldn’t be able to support my children. Those were difficult years. Alone with three young children and no income.” entered. I cried when they spilled the milk because I had no money to buy it anymore.”

At that time, Maye worked five different jobs at the same time to make ends meet. So that her children could take free courses at the University of Toronto, she applied to work as an employee in the school’s research department. Maye said what she bought when she received her first salary here was a carpet, because their apartment was empty, with almost no furniture. “The next thing I bought was a computer for Elon, so he could sit on the carpet and use it,” she told Vogue in 2015.

With no men in the house, Maye repaired each thing herself. “My youngest daughter – Tosca – still remembers the day I was injured by hammering a nail. She said ‘Mom, if your hand is damaged, you can’t be a model anymore’.”

Maye Musk and son Elon Musk attend Met Gala 2022. Video: NBC

She also taught her children how to be independent from an early age, applied for jobs for each of them, helped Elon Musk get a job at Microsoft Corporation soon, and helped Kimbal’s son get a part-time job at a bank.

In an interview with CNBC in 2019, Maye Musk said she only tries to teach her children the basics in life: learning to take care of themselves, being kind, empathetic and polite. She did not treat her children like children, did not scold them if they did not succeed, never forced them to sit at their desks, never checked their homework. According to her, Elon is a hard-working person, but only studies subjects he likes.

In addition to supporting her children at work, in their eyes, she is also a psychological mother. Times were tough, Elon Musk and his younger brother once couldn’t buy a birthday gift for their mother. They gave her a toy house, along with a small car model, and said they would buy the real thing for her mother in the future. “It’s really the toy house that means the most to me,” Maye told Tatler. Over the past few years, she has repeatedly argued with President Biden’s administration for ignoring Tesla’s role in leading the electric vehicle industry.

Elon Musk and his mother when the family was still struggling in the 1990s. Photo: Instagram Maye Musk

The supermodel believes that hard work is what makes her overcome everything. Currently, Tosca Musk is a highly rated television producer. Second son Kimbal Musk is the founder of three rising food companies. Eldest son Elon Musk is the founder of Tesla and SpaceX, and is among the top three richest billionaires in the world.

But Maye Musk doesn’t think her life is a fairy tale. The supermodel does not allow herself to stop, always working, regenerating positive energy regularly. “My mother is an artist and an avid reader. At age 94, she learned how to use a Mac to create computer graphics. She saw no reason to stop doing what she loved like it. And so do I. The word ‘retirement’ is not in my vocabulary,” she told Vogue.