June 2022
TAMPA, Fla. — Ann Turner Cook, whose cherubic baby face was known the world over as the original Gerber baby, has died. She was 95.
Gerber announced Cook’s death in an Instagram post on Friday.
“Many years before becoming an extraordinary mother, teacher and writer, her smile and expressive curiosity captured hearts everywhere and will continue to live on as a symbol for all babies,” the company said.
Cook was 5 months old when a neighbor, artist Dorothy Hope Smith, drew a charcoal sketch of her that was later submitted for a contest Gerber was holding for a national marketing campaign for baby food.
The image was a hit, so much so that it became the company’s trademark in 1931 and has been used in all packaging and advertising since.
For decades, though, the identity of the baby was kept secret, spurring rumors about who it was with guesses including Humphrey Bogart and Elizabeth Taylor.
In the late 1970s, it was revealed to be Cook, who grew up to be an English teacher in Tampa, Fla., and later a mystery novelist.
Cook told The Associated Press in a 1998 interview that her mother had told her when she was young that she was the baby in the illustration.
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https://www.npr.org/2022/06/04/1103095090/ann-turner-cook-the-original-gerber-baby-dies-at-95
Ok, I’m going to be one of those annoying Nannas and post a pic of my youngest one.....lol only because I’m biased and think she’s every bit as cute as the Gerber baby. Plus she’s white as well lol. Having said that, I have to say that I find little black babies adorable. They’re always so pudgy and cute. Pic sent to the nice lady who handles this for me lol.