Sarah Jane Adams
With her striking looks and uniquely personal style, at 66 yrs, Sarah Jane – or SJ as she introduces herself – has always been more likely to stand out than blend in.
From her formative years growing up in the UK, she's s grabbed opportunities that come her way with both hands, criss-crossing the globe in the process, living a life that appears to be in constant motion.Occasionally she would find herself stopped by a passing photographer, captivated by her riotously coloured and character-filled garb.
Sometimes those images would appear in print. But it was a chance sighting of an Instagram snap reposted by her daughter that launched SJ into the public consciousness and lead to a new chapter in her life, albeit one she's not always entirely comfortable with.
Clad in a red and white Adidas jacket with a matching headscarf, SJ's nonchalant gaze and strength drew the attention of American filmmaker, photographer and blogger Ari Seth Cohen. He would fly to Sydney to meet her and soon, along with several other women he documents on his Advanced Style empire, she would find worldwide recognition.
"She was (and is) the coolest woman I had ever seen," he later wrote in the foreword to her "unorthodox" 2020 memoir Life in a Box.
Indeed, today SJ is a favourite of fashion lovers worldwide. Her Instagram account @saramaijewels has 196,000 followers; her second, the more newly launched @mywrinklesaremystripes, has close to 33,000.
She's an ambassador for Priceline and her inbox is constantly flooded with invitations to red carpet events, offers to "gift" her products; to "collaborate" with brands.Yet use the word "model" or "influencer" to describe her and a distinct chill enters the room, a shiver of disgust passing across her completely make-up free face.
"I'm not an influencer because I don't sell s**t," she says bluntly.
"I influence people, I know I do. Even though I've never used the hashtag #greyhair or #silverhair or #silversisters or any of that stuff – because that's putting me in a box – hundreds, thousands of women have said to me, 'You are the one who has given me permission to transition my hair.'"
Currently, that influence is spreading. Today she is riding high on a wave of reality television popularity, a break-out star on Seven juggernaut Big Brother, her daily antics becoming water cooler conversation.
Like many reality TV contestants before them, several of the younger cast, SJ says, hope to parlay their five minutes into monetised fame.
Perversely, she says, she hopes it becomes a means to ending her own.
"I'm really happy I'm losing followers hand over fist at the moment," she says. "I'm delighted. If I could get down to zero on @saramaijewels I would be so happy. I feel as if, in some way, you lose it unless you are prepared to invest so much time playing that game, which I'm absolutely not prepared to do. I've got more important things to be dealing with in my life. Like hanging out with my family and my long-suffering husband."