'Looking great and being relevant do not come with a sell-by date': Yorkshire model Annie Stirk wins Silver Marketing award

North Yorkshire model and campaigner Annie Stirk has won the Exceptional Achievement Award at the 2026 Silver Marketing Awards.

The award recognises her work in challenging ageism and championing greater visibility and the authentic representation of older people.

The recognition marks the latest milestone in an extraordinary later-life chapter that has seen Annie, who lives near York, appear on billboards, catwalks, campaigns, film and the pageant stage.

After a successful career spanning television, food, PR and communications, Annie had officially retired when she answered a Facebook advert looking for models.

She sent in a selfie and went on to become a national billboard model at 70, appear in fashion and lifestyle campaigns and use her growing platform to question why older women remain so underrepresented across fashion, advertising and the media.

“Although I stepped into modelling, I’ve never stopped thinking like the PR and marketing professional I’ve been throughout my career,” she says.

“My mind is constantly buzzing with ideas about how we can create opportunities, start conversations and make things happen.”

The award was presented last month in London by Anthea Turner at the culmination of the Silver Marketing Summit, organised by the Silver Marketing Association.

The judges praised Annie’s passion, drive and determination, describing her as “a superb role model” whose work has raised the visibility of older women and given them “a stage where none previously existed.”

They highlighted the way she has combined strategic advocacy with leading by example through her own modelling, campaigning and speaking career, saying she has “boldly walked the talk” in pushing for more authentic representation of older women.

For Annie, 76, reading the judges’ words made receiving the award even more meaningful.

“I’ve never set out to be an icon or even thought of myself as a role model. I’ve simply seen things that I felt needed to change and thought: what can I do about it?

“To receive the Exceptional Achievement Award is a real career high, and I’m still taking it all in. To be recognised by people working within the very industry where I believe change is so important makes it particularly special.”

Recently, Annie became the oldest finalist in Galaxy UK history, representing York as Mrs York Galaxy.

She also stepped into another completely new world when she landed a small speaking role in the Yorkshire-made film Hot Flash, starring Gaynor Faye and exploring the subject of menopause.

These experiences are not simply personal achievements, she says. “This has never been only about me being visible. It’s about helping to widen the picture so that other women are visible too.

“If seeing me on a billboard, a catwalk, a pageant stage or trying something completely new makes another woman think, ‘Perhaps I could do that too,’ then that is incredibly powerful.

“I want women to know that looking great, having ambition, being relevant and taking up space do not come with a sell-by date.”

The Exceptional Achievement Award was sponsored by Ageism Is Never In Style, whose work challenges age discrimination within fashion and beyond – a cause closely aligned with Annie’s own campaigning.

“This isn’t about older versus younger,” she said. “Real change is intergenerational. It is about widening the picture so that people of every age can see themselves represented, included and valued.”