Woman shares her secrets to long-lasting life after reaching 100th birthday

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Living to 100-years-old and beyond used to be unheard of.

But now, more and more people are joining the so-called "Century Club."

Today, there are more than 90,000 centenarians in the US alone, according to the Census Bureau.

That's nearly double the number from just two decades ago, when there were more like 50,000.

And worldwide, the United Nations reports that there are nearly 600,000 people over 100, and it's predicted to grow to some 3.6 million by the year 2050.

Pinkie Cooper just celebrated living to the century mark, although she looks nowhere close to 100 years old. And she is used to people doing a double-take when she tells them her age.

"They tell me that all the time," she says with a smile.

The year Pinkie Cooper was born, Calvin Coolidge was president, the Yankees played their first home game at their new stadium, prohibition was in full swing, the Model T was the most popular car, the Hollywood sign went up in LA, and two brothers - Roy and Walt - founded the Walt Disney company.

Cooper's own history is equally amazing. She's the last of 32 children, and mother to 15 of her own, 9 still living.

Add to that, more than 20 grandchildren and at least 30 great-grandchildren.

At her 100th birthday party attended by dozens of family and friends, what many of her guests wanted to know is the secret to her long life.

"What do you eat?"

She answered, "I eat oatmeal and I love vegetables."

"Do you smoke?"

"No, never smoked."

"Do you drink?"

She says, "Sometimes."

"What do you drink?"

"Whiskey."

"Is that the secret?"

"No," she says with a laugh.

And she admits to having a few other favorite vices, like "I love gambling."

Also, "I love lipstick. I wear it every day, and I like the red lipstick, too."

While she says she doesn't remember a lot of history, she does say voting for Barack Obama, the first Black president, was one of the highlights of her long life.

She recalls, "I was just wishing a lot of my siblings could have seen this and been here to see it too."

Cooper has always been a huge Astros fan, especially Jose Altuve and manager Dusty Baker.

And at 100, while other seniors are struggling with technology, she loves cell phones.

"I think they're great," she says, "because you can talk to people, you know, far away."

"Plus you can see them right on the TV, on the cell phone. I think it's great!" she added.

"I just play games," she says. "I don't know how they do all that other fancy stuff."

Besides her phone, her favorite accessory is an iPad.

"I look on Facebook, and then I play games. I love to play games. And plus, I think it helps my mind," she added.

So, yes, you heard right - she gets on Facebook every day. She says she doesn't know how to do much, other than scroll through other people's posts and like them. But that's more than some people can do who are half her age.

She believes that when she gets right down to it, that it is family and faith that has gotten her through so much and allowed her to live such a long and rich life.

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