MY GRANDMOTHER, THE BEAUTY QUEEN …. …. Back in the day, when she was maybe 17 or 18 years old, grandma won a beauty contest back in Pennsylvania. I have seen the faded black and white photographs, a breathtaking woman to be sure. …. …. She ran maybe two, three miles a day; she jogged; she swam six, seven miles a day. She was in really great shape, and she won another beauty contest. She was a good-looking woman. Now, she’s 93 years old and has really let herself go.