Representation matters. As Black women over 40, we need to see ourselves in television and film, in books and magazines. Even if you feel like an analog girl in a digital world, you should be represented online, too. Content creators over 40 are using their blogs, YouTube channels, and social media platforms to show what it looks like to live a grown and golden life.
Tennille Jenkins
@thetennillelife_
Like so many women, Tenille Jenkins, formerly Tenille Murphy, has said that she spent years taking care of everyone around her while neglecting herself. After going through a divorce, she began a self-love journey that included embracing her natural hair (she’s had grey hair since age 23) and unearthing her natural confidence.
“As I designed a life that felt sustainable, joyful, and beautiful, everything changed for me,” she writes on her website. “I knew I had to share my story.”
Jenkins, who will turn 47 this year, launched her blog The Tenille Life in 2013 to explore her passions, including wellness, nutrition, design, travel, and fashion.
On her blog, she describes herself as a " clean beauty expert, a plant-based recipe guru, a fashion maven, and a mature black woman embracing my natural hair, silver streaks and all.”
Monica Awe-Etuk
@awedbymoni
Atlanta-based fashion designer, stylist, and content creator Monica Awe-Etuk is known for her timeless sense of style. She has had recurring features in InStyle and People Style Watch. Eager to share her style secrets and the keys to her blogging success, Awe-Etuk, 45, has released a series of ebooks and launched style master courses.
Tamika Christy
Instagram: @ourwritesmatter
TikTok: @writerlady1
Tamika Christy, 51, is an acclaimed author whose sense of style is as captivating as her storytelling. Dubbed the “Writer Lady,” Christy uses her platforms on TikTok and Instagram and her blog not only to share a behind-the-scenes look at her writing life and to offer encouragement and inspiration to aspiring authors, but also to show off her fierce but functional fashion and help women over 50 navigate parenting. A self-described Gen X creative introvert, this Bay Area-based beauty reminds women that their life experiences have meaning, that their stories matter, and that it’s not too late to share them with the world.
Tamu McPherson
@tamumcpherson
Born in Jamaica, raised in New York, and currently residing in Milan, Tamu McPherson has been a mover and shaker in the fashion industry for years, contributing to an array of print and digital publications including Glamour U.S., Harper’s Bazaar U.S., and Refinery 29. In 2008, she launched the site All the Pretty Birds, which she says aims “to celebrate the diverse and storied personalities that make style and beauty possible for - and accessible to - the whole world. No exclusions.”
Kellie Brown
@itsmekellieb
A marketing maven turned style influencer, Kellie Brown has been featured by O Magazine, Glamour, Teen Vogue, Rachael Ray Show, Man Repeller, Who What Wear, CNN, and more.
Her fashion blog, And I Get Dressed, grew into a global brand, and Brown created #FatAtFashionweek and Fat Icon apparel to celebrate all body types. Today, Brown is making her mark in interior design with her platform Deeply Madly Modern.
Ty Alexander
IG:@tyalexander
TikTok: @djtyalexander
Longtime fans of Ty Alexander’s work will remember when she entered the blogosphere with the website Gorgeous In Grey in 2010. Alexander greyed early – long before her 40th birthday – and proudly rocked her silver strands. A true Renaissance woman, Alexander would go on to make a name for herself in publishing with her bestselling book Things I Wish I Knew Before My Mom Died; in the music world as a DJ, and recently as a podcaster with the wellness-focused show Self Care IRL.
Jeniese Hosey
IG: @jenesaisquoithe
TikTok: @thejenesaisquoi
Jeniese Hosey first made a name for herself as a plus-size fashion influencer with her blog The Jenesaisquoi. Now through Instagram and TikTok, Hosey continues to expand her platform to showcase her style – and her love for the Alabama Crimson Tide – and to spread the message that everybody deserves the same privileges and has the right to feel good in their skin no matter their shape, size, or skin color. Recently, Hosey has been sharing her journey with type 2 diabetes, creating content centered on diabetes management and fighting against the stigma and prejudice that surrounds the disease.
Marie Denee
@mariedenee
@thecurvyfashionista
Marie Denee makes breaking barriers look good. At a time when conversations about inclusivity in fashion were at a whisper, Marie Denee helped bring body-positive talk to a roar with her website The Curvy Fashionista, a blog focused on plus-size fashion that she launched in 2008. She’s contributed her fashion expertise to Essence Magazine, Ebony, Seventeen Magazine, and others. She describes herself as “a walking wiki for all things plus size fashion,” but is so much more. With The Curvy Fashionista still going strong, Marie Denee also offers fashion, blogging, and entrepreneurship tips on her website mariedenee.com.
Nikki Free Style
@iamnikkifree
Even if you don’t follow many fashion influencers online, Nikki Free may have come across your feed after a piece of her digital artwork went viral late last year. The piece depicts a group of Black women, labeled the 92%, seated on a rooftop watching America burn after the 2024 presidential election. Here’s how she explained the art: “Right now, many Black women are feeling exhausted—disappointed, let down, and tired of always being the moral compass for a nation that seems to reject us at every turn. As this country cracks under the weight of cruelty and chaos, we are choosing something different this time. We are stepping back, standing on the sidelines, and prioritizing ourselves. For once, we’re embracing the power of rest, healing, and self-preservation.”
On her social media platforms, the fashionista offers tips for body confidence, skincare, beauty, where to shop for the perfect bra, hair product reviews, and more. And she encourages women to ditch ideas about being too old to wear bright colors, short skirts, crop tops, or sparkly shoes. “Style is ageless and so are you,” she said on a recent TikTok video.
Makeda Smith
@flyingover50
A veteran entertainment industry publicist, Makeda Smith has also made a name for herself as a wellness influencer with her pro-aging flow movement and fitness practice known as The Makeda Method. Flying Over 50 is the 64-year-old grandmother’s dance flow movement brand inspired by pole and aerial dance, and is meant to help women over 50 tap into the sensual goddess that she believes still resides in women, no matter their age.
Who are some of your favorite influencers over 40?
