This 56-Year-Old Follows A Strict Diet, Exercises 4 Days A Week, And It Obviously Pays Off (21 Pics)

To some, ‘Never give up on your dreams’ sounds cliché, but those who dare to chase their life’s goals beg to differ.

Kathy Jacobs has just got her biggest breakthrough — she has made it to the final of this year’s annual Sports Illustrated Swimsuit model search competition. However, Kathy isn’t your average cover girl. She stands 5’3″ and is 56 years old.

After making it to the end of the contest, the woman from Calabasas, California highlighted that it’s important not to discount people because of their age or height, hoping her appearance in Sports Illustrated will help change readers’ views of beauty.

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“I was a model in the ’80s in NYC and then did some stuff here and there in LA but had given up and got a minimum wage job sweeping the floor at a Drybar and decided to give it one last shot about a year and a half ago,” Kathy told Bored Panda. “I started self-submitting myself for modeling and acting jobs and got quite a few [of them].”

She modeled for Soji Health and BeautyBlender and did several commercials as well as a Green Day music video where she appeared in a bikini.