The stereotype for people in their 90s involves images of a quiet life of reading, watching TV, and napping.
Inge Ginsburg, 96, is out to obliterate that notion, donning a black-tie gown and spitting out lyrics while a metal band thrashes away behind her.
It’s the latest achievement for a woman who has led an amazing life: Born to a Jewish family, in Vienna, that was torn apart by World War II, she survived labor camps and eventually became a spy in Switzerland, reporting on the German troops. She married three times, lived in Quito, Tel Aviv and Lugano. Ginsberg worked in the music industry, composing songs, and as a journalist, also writing books about her travels and adventures.
Never one to rest on her laurels, in 2013, the widowed Ginsberg began pursuing a career in music again and began singing, but not oldies. She worked her way into a collaboration with the metal band The TritoneKings and earned a spot on the 2015 Eurovision Song Contest. While Ginsberg and the band only came in 18th, it did get the nonagenarian some renown. And she’s about to get even more now that the documentary “Death Metal Grandma” just debuted at the buzz-building SXSW Festival in Austin. The film follows Ginsberg’s path to an “America’s Got Talent” audition–and is a remarkable testament to never being too old to try something new. Inge, who’s always ready to rock, we salute you!
– Janet Siroto
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