Who Is Maye Musk? [Elon Musk’s Mother]
Elon Musk makes headlines every day, but his mother is not that far behind. Maye Musk is the mother of Elon Musk, Kimbal Musk, and Tosca Musk. She is most famous as the mother of Elon Musk, but she is also a celebrity in her own right.
Maye Musk also has a successful career as an author, dietitian, and public speaker. She has been featured in many renowned publications throughout her career. However, she is also famous for pushing the boundaries of modeling and is an inspiration to women everywhere.
Early life
Maye Musk was born on April 19, 1948, in Canada. Her father, Dr. Joshua Norman Haldeman, was an amateur archeologist who flew the family worldwide on a prop plane in 1952. Her family would often spend time roaming the Kalahari desert searching for the fabled Lost City of Kalahari.
She started modeling at the age of 15. By 21, she was a successful model who was even a finalist in the 1969 Miss South Africa beauty competition.
Maye Musk’s Family life with Elon Musk
Maye Musk married Errol Musk, a South African engineer she met in high school. Together they had three children: Elon Musk, Kimbal Musk, and Tosca Musk. However, she divorced Errol in 1979 because of his abusive nature.
After that, Maye had to raise all three of her kids by herself, including the soon-to-be Twitter owner Elon Musk. Things were hard for the family financially, but Maye’s skills as a dietician came in handy. The family finally moved to Canada in 1981, with Maye working multiple jobs.
Maye Musk’s Career
Maye Musk began modeling at 15 and had a career that spanned decades. She also earned two master’s degrees in dietetics and nutritional science from the University of the Orange Free State and the University of Toronto, respectively.
After moving to Canada, she continued her modeling career and even appeared on boxes of Special K cereal, Revlon ads, and a Beyonce video. Even after Elon Musk’s great success, she still pursued modeling.
She was signed by IMG, a major modeling company, at 68. At the age of 69, she became a Covergirl ambassador. In 2011, she even posed nude on the cover of New York Magazine and Time magazine.
At 74-year-old, she was also recently featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated Swimsuit, becoming the oldest woman to do so. She was one of four cover models for the edition, including Kim Kardashian.
Due to her age, she has often been called the oldest supermodel. In 2019, she wrote a memoir titled A Woman Makes a Plan: Advice for a Lifetime of Adventure, Beauty, and Success. Maye’s years of hardship and hard work instilled the correct value in Elon Musk.
If you like this simple explainer, check out our ‘Short Bytes’ and ‘Know Who’s Who‘ sections. We take complex tech topics and break them into short, easy-to-understand articles.
