Helen Ruth Elam, better known as Baddiewinkle or Baddie Winkle, is an American internet personality. Elam was born in Hazard, Kentucky. She became an Internet sensation at the age of eighty-five. Her social media tag line—"Stealing Your Man Since 1928"—has become a popular saying for teens and young adults. She is known for her humor and for fighting against ageism through her personal style and messaging, characterized by wearing eccentric clothes, promoting the legalization of medical marijuana, and her innuendo. Winkle is an activist and influencer whose self expression is a statement of disapproval of the beauty industry and the false limitations it imposes on individuals, and especially on women. She has millions of followers and views on social media, where she posts photos and videos of herself, often with suggestive clothing with peculiar prints, or little clothing in order to encourage body positivity and the celebration of the physiques of older adults.
Career
Winkle has gathered a following after initially getting help from her great granddaughter, Kennedy Lewis, to upload an image to Twitter, while wearing her great-granddaughter's clothes. She was subsequently followed by Rihanna, and now has a worldwide following. In 2015 she reached one million followers on Instagram. She currently lives in Knoxville, Tennessee, and has appeared on The Today Show, Australia. In 2015, Grit Creative Group used her as the face of their website launch campaign, where she dressed as Kurt Cobain, Kate Moss and others. Baddie helped kick offseason two of Nicole Richie's Candidly Nicole on VH1. She also appeared on the Red Carpet at the Netflix promotion for Orange Is the New Black. She attended the 2015 MTVVideo Music Awards as a guest of Miley Cyrus and MTV. In 2016, she was in a national commercial for Smirnoff ICE Electric Flavors as part of their "Keep It Moving" campaign. She continues to entertain with her pictures, videos, and collaborations with well-known brands and celebrities.
