'Hottest mom in the world' mistaken for her daughter's sister

May 2024 · 3 minute read

Like daughter, like mother — like Instagram influencer.

Joleen Diaz and her daughter Meilani Parks are 24 years apart in age — but strangers often think they’re sisters.

“I don’t think she minds,” says Diaz, 43, of her 19-year-old. “While she was growing up, she would often hear people tell me they thought my mother was my sister.”

The Northern California pair are very close, but while Diaz may not look her age, she does her best to act it.

“Meilani and I have never gone clubbing or partying together,” Diaz, an elementary school teacher, tells Jam Press, adding that she doesn’t plan to go out with her daughter in the future, either. While she’s had her share of late nights, “these days, I’d rather stay home, drink a nice cup of hot tea, and watch a good movie.”

The single mom (she split with her partner 13 years ago, but they remain on good terms) has a straightforward secret to explain her youthful appearance.

“I’ve always lived a healthy, active lifestyle,” Diaz says. “I rarely drink alcohol. I get a lot of rest, and eat a balanced, healthy diet.”

Apparently it’s working: The matriarch’s Instagram — which has more than 22,000 followers — is full of comments about how young she looks.

“You are officially the hottest mom in the world!” raves one Insta fan.

“You and your daughter look like sisters,” writes another.

Diaz also strictly adheres to a skin-care routine.

“I religiously take care of my skin, and every day, wash my face in the morning and before I go to bed,” she says, a regimen she claims to have begun when she was just 12 or 13. “My mom used to buy Mary Kay and I would secretly use her skin-care products.”

Sunscreen, vitamin C serum and a product called tretinoin (or Retin-A) are also godsends, she says.

“I absolutely use sunscreen, every day, even on cloudy, rainy days,” she says. She’s been using Retin-A for roughly a year and a half and has seen her skin get “better and better” with it. “Having good skin gives me confidence,” she says, “even on the days I don’t look my best.”

Diaz also insists that her daughter follow a similarly rigorous routine to maintain what her mama gave her: “I had her start around age 12.”

The idea that Diaz is Parks’ sister, the mother points out, is not beyond the realm of possibility.

“I was pretty young when I had her, so it’s not entirely impossible that we could be sisters,” she says.

Diaz and Parks frequently shop, travel and work together though — or just hang out, “lay on the couch and talk.” Their closeness, Diaz says, helps Parks to not find the “sister comments” strange.

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