Fitness Pioneer Denise Austin, 69, Is Expecting Her First Grandchild

For four decades Denise Austin has coached women through different stages of life. At 69, she has arrived at a new one: first-time grandmother.

Katie Austin, 32, a fitness influencer, Sports Illustrated swimsuit model and daughter of workout pioneer Austin, is pregnant with her first child. To mark the occasion, she re-created the cover of her mother’s early-1990s Pregnancy Plus Workout video, the same one Denise filmed while carrying Katie, and shared the moment on Instagram.

“She truly pioneered prenatal fitness … and getting to carry that legacy forward in my own way means everything,” wrote Katie.

Her mom was touched. “She re-created my pregnancy workout from the 90’s — when I was pregnant with her!!!” Denise wrote on Instagram in a separate post, showing the two photos side by side. “Full circle moment of the next generation … And now we’re getting ready for our grandbabies!!!!”

It all started six weeks earlier. On March 15, Katie announced her pregnancy on Instagram. “My baby is having a BABY!!! We are Over The Moon to be GRANDPARENTS!!!! I love all 3 of you!!!!…. Xoxo,” wrote her mom in the comments.

The two are working together. In a joint Instagram post, Katie and Denise filmed a workout side by side, Katie visibly pregnant, moving through lunges and strength exercises. “From building strength, to supporting your body through pregnancy, to staying strong through menopause and beyond,” Katie wrote on Instagram, “it’s all about moving in a way that meets you where you are.”

The post teased a new mother-daughter fitness series planned for launch around Mother’s Day, designed, Katie wrote, “for every woman, every phase, every season of life.”

Denise Austin at her home with a weekly playgroup in an undated photo. Austin, now 69, is set to become a first-time grandmother.

Diana Walker/Getty Images

It’s a long way from where Denise started. She launched her career in the 1980s through workout videos that reached millions. She also served on the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports under President George W. Bush and built Fit Over 50, a magazine and app. She has kept every piece of workout clothing from the ’80s and ’90s. By her own account, the clothes still fit.

Her commitment runs deep. “There’s three exercises that I make sure I do every day that really keep me fit, and I have been doing this forever,” she told AARP in 2023. “A squat for my lower body, a crunch for my midsection and a push-up on my knees for my upper body.”

On staying motivated across all those years, she was equally direct. “The most important thing that keeps me motivated is knowing how good I feel after a workout,” she told AARP.