Her appearance on ‘Germany’s Next Top Model’ (GNTM) only lasted one episode. But while many candidates disappear from the limelight after they are eliminated, Anja Kossiwakis’ real career began after the casting show. As an international ‘Best Ager Model’, the 57-year-old now stands for change in an industry that for a long time paid little attention to women with gray hair.
In the past, says the Dessau native and current Wiesbaden resident, this was exactly what was unthinkable in the fashion world. “Grey hair makes you old and long hair in gray doesn’t work at all. That was actually a no-go.” Today that is exactly her trademark – and Kossiwakis is already enjoying her second career as a model.
From a GDR find to a cover model
Her first encounter with the fashion world dates back decades – in the late GDR. At the time, Kossiwakis was working at the Sparkasse in Dessau. She discovers a notice in a shop window: “The ‘Publisher for Women’ is looking for photo models” it says. She applies, is added to the file and waits.
It took two years until she got her first modeling job. The photographer puts her in front of the camera without makeup. “They said: Anja, you are the natural beauty. You don’t need any make-up.” She made it onto several covers of the magazine ‘Modische Maschen’. But modeling remains a hobby between everyday life and an office job.
New beginnings in the West
On November 9th, 1989 the wall comes down. A day later, Anja travels west. “On the 10th I got on the train and on November 11th I was in Wiesbaden.” There she finds work again at the savings bank. Modeling is becoming a long way off. She actually wanted to model on the side, like she used to do in the GDR. But that didn’t work so easily in the West. “At some point I was too old for it,” she says looking back.
For many years, modeling remained just a side note. Kossiwakis works, has children and later gets more involved with fashion as a fashion blogger. She writes, photographs and attends Fashion Week in Paris. There she makes contacts with designers, photographers and models.
Early end at the casting show – kickstart for your modeling career
Kossiwakis’ springboard back into active modeling life is the casting show GNTM. “I just thought it was cool that diversity was suddenly popular,” she says. Her children’s enthusiasm was initially limited. She still decided to embark on the television adventure. “I said, oh, I’ll just do it now.”
Her appearance on the show is short, but attracts attention. One scene in particular goes viral: Anja asks Heidi Klum if she remembers her from a previous Fashion Week and hands over a personal photo book. Klum reacts cautiously. The moment is being discussed on social media. But that is exactly what becomes the turning point. Shortly after the broadcast, the media reported on the ‘GDR model’. Videos of her are spreading rapidly, reaching millions of views.
Wiesbaden remains her home
After the GNTM exit, a second career begins. Catwalk jobs, campaigns and international agency contracts follow. At the beginning of 2026, Kossiwakis will be running at Paris Fashion Week for the first time. Further international catwalk jobs are already planned for the summer season. Her early expulsion from GNTM was the best thing that could have happened to her. “So I mean, Heidi, she throws me out and then I’m on the catwalk in Paris and I signed the modeling contract with one of the biggest modeling agencies in the world,” she says. “So there’s no greater compliment for me.”
Today she works internationally and is booked in various markets. Your calendar is filling up far beyond Germany. Wiesbaden still remains her fixed point. “I love Paris,” she says. “But this is my home.”
No ‘gray mouse’
Many women write Kossiwakis, talking about their own breaks, about insecurity, about the feeling of being “too old” for new things. Kossiwakis therefore sees her late career as a signal. It is inspiring to start again in your mid-50s. “You don’t have to hide and say, I’m a gray mouse now,” she laughs and points to her gray hair. “Well, my hair is gray now, but you can still be stylish in your mid-50s and you don’t have to become invisible.”
Older women simply belong more in fashion, she says. “I didn’t have anything done, I almost never wear make-up and I’m actually still the natural one from the GDR.” That’s exactly what convinces people.