FREMONT, Mich. – Who is the baby behind that famous face? She’s Ann Turner Cook – the model for artist Dorothy Hope Smith.
Smith submitted the famous charcoal sketch of Cook in a 1928 contest that Gerber sponsored to find a face for its new national ad campaign. Cook was the 4-month-old daughter of Smith’s friend.
Since 1928, the Gerber Baby has appeared on all Gerber packaging and in every Gerber advertisement, becoming one of the most recognized icons in the world.
The sketch has remained unchanged from the original 1928 version.
Over the years, several people claimed to be the model for the Gerber Baby. Rumors surfaced it was possibly Humphrey Bogart, Shirley Temple or Elizabeth Taylor.
Cook is now the mother of four children and grandmother of eight. The retired teacher is excited to be releasing her first novel this fall, “Trace Their Shadows,” a murder mystery set in central Florida.
Her husband, Jim, who was a sheriff office major for many years in the area, helped research the book.
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