(WTXL) — The original Gerber baby celebrated her 94th birthday on Friday.
According to the company’s website, Gerber held a contest in 1928 to find an adorable baby face to represent a baby food ad campaign.
Artist Dorothy Hope Smith submitted a simple charcoal sketch of a four-month-old baby named Ann Turner Cook, who lived in Smith's same Connecticut neighborhood.
In her entry, Smith said she would finish the sketch into something more elaborate if she won. However, the company loved the drawing as is and selected the drawing as the winner.
The company adopted it as its official trademark in 1931.
The identity of the child who made the illustration so popular was kept secret for 40 years until it was revealed in 1978. By this time, Cook, a Tampa resident, was a mystery novelist and retired English teacher.
Happy 94th birthday Ann!
