Entertainment

Happy belated: Woman with iconic baby face recently celebrated birthday

By Noel Harris
Ann Turner Cook, center, is the original face for the Gerber baby food company. She’s seen in 2012 outside studios for NBC’s “Today” with people who won a contest.
Ann Turner Cook, center, is the original face for the Gerber baby food company. She’s seen in 2012 outside studios for NBC’s “Today” with people who won a contest. Amy Sussman AP Images for Gerber

Happy belated birthday, Ann Turner Cook.

You may not know the name, but you likely know the face, especially if you have children.

Cook’s face is the sketch you see on all Gerber products. According to WTVD in Durham, N.C., she was 4 months old at the time.

On Monday, she celebrated her 91st birthday.

According to the baby food company’s website, Dorothy Hope Smith submitted a sketch of Cook in 1928, offering to finish it if she won the contest. Gerber liked it so much that it was left unchanged and became the company’s official trademark three years later.

Cook’s identity as the face of Gerber wasn’t announced to the public until 1978, according to the website. She’s a mystery novelist and a retired teacher.

This story was originally published November 21, 2017 at 4:37 PM with the headline "Happy belated: Woman with iconic baby face recently celebrated birthday."

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