ReZoom

Most models are discovered when they are in their teens. Take Twiggy, for instance, the face of 1960's Swinging London: She was discovered by a hair stylist at the tender age of 16.

But there are always exceptions. Take Valerie Ramsey, mother of six and grandmother of seven, who was discovered at age 63.

"It came totally out of the blue," said Ramsey about being discovered. "It dropped in my lap, which made it all that more special. If this had happened in my 20s, I wouldn't have been nearly as surprised or appreciative."

As the public relations manager of Pebble Beach Resorts, Ramsey doesn't like surprises. Yet it was while giving a tour of Pebble Beach Golf Links that she received the surprise of a lifetime.

"I was escorting around a producer from Hollywood, who was researching the possibility of doing a battle of the sexes tournament from Pebble Beach," she said. "He kept looking at me and saying he really liked my look and wondering if I had photographs. I thought he was buttering me up because he wanted to do his golf tournament here. I didn't take him seriously at all."

The following week, Ramsey received repeated telephone calls from the producer, who insisted she send some photos. Not having any, she went to a professional photographer she had once hired to take shots of Pebble Beach golf courses, had some photos taken, and sent them off. The pictures wound up at Stars, a renowned San Francisco modeling agency.

"I didn't know what Stars was, but found out that they were one of the biggest modeling agencies up there," she said. "They called me right away and said they would love to sign me."

As it turns out, the stars are the limit for Ramsey, as her look has caught the attention of other agencies such as Ford Models in Chicago and Nous Model Management in Los Angeles. For the past four years she has appeared in fashion shows, television commercials and print ads for Lexus, Nordstrom and Macy's.

While having your "look" scrutinized by a large audience might be intimidating for some people, at any age, Ramsey – who only models when it doesn't conflict with her duties at Pebble Beach – has maintained a healthy perspective.

"One of my first fashion shows was a huge deal at the Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco, where they had about a thousand people in the audience," she said. "I went backstage and saw these young models running around and there I am with my silver hair. I just laughed and said, ‘Girls, your den mother is here.' It was a wonderful experience."