Robin Roberts' Day as an 85-Year-Old
April 27, 2006 — -- Moms and daughters often look into each others' eyes and see a version of themselves.
As my mother has grown older, I've watched her start to move more slowly, to struggle. So I wanted to experience -- literally -- what she went through in her everyday life. The goal was not only to look 85, but feel 85.
More than a month ago, "Good Morning America" enlisted the help of Tony Gardner, a top Hollywood makeup artist.
Gardner has created amazing transformations in movies, for example, turning Gwyneth Paltrow into a 300-pound woman in "Shallow Hal."
The first step in my transformation took more than two hours as he covered me with a two-part medical flexible silicone to create a mold of my face. He and his team layered plaster bandages over the silicone to make the final face mold. Weeks later, they returned with 10 pieces that would be the building blocks of my prosthetics.
The day of the transformation, I admit I was skeptical. I had just spent the morning as myself on "GMA." How could this team transport me into another generation both physically and psychologically in just a matter of hours?
Then it started to happen -- the assembling of more than a dozen pieces one step at a time, adding new ears, cheeks, and using several different colors to create skin tones and wrinkles. I watched myself slowly vanish, and I began to see the outlines of my grandmother in the mirror.
It didn't end with the makeup. Next, I met with an engineer from Boeing. The company has developed "the third age suit." It allows you to strap on a set of harnesses that restrict your movement and simulate what it's like to have arthritic pain in your back and joints. As 77 million baby boomers start turning 60 this year, Boeing is using this special suit to understand how its planes can be redesigned for an aging population.
When I put the suit on, suddenly all my joints ached. I couldn't stand up straight, and the smallest movements were a struggle. I felt tired almost immediately.
