In her upcoming children’s book, “The Beverly Hills Jump Rope Queen,” Annie Judis encourages her young readers and adults alike to live a healthy lifestyle.
“Health is wealth,” says Judis. “A lot of people take their health for granted when they’re young. I try to scare people on my Instagram. I say, ‘You don’t want to end up 80, and in a wheelchair,’ because you will end up in a wheelchair at my age, if you don’t move your body.
“In my book … I tell them that one out of five kids in the United States are obese,” she says. “That breaks my heart when I hear that. Just a little cheap rope is all you need to jump five minutes a day – it will change your life.”
Judis, who turns 81 this month, achieved her seventh standing in the Guinness Book of World Records this past August, for four minutes of planking. Her previous six records are also for competitive rope skipping, the first of which she set at the age of 74.
Related Stories
Black Leaders, Political Orgs, Sound Alarm About Project 2025
Special Guests and Sponsors at Taste of Soul Receive Royal Treatment at VIP Tent
Setting records is nothing new for Judis, a trailblazer of Black Hollywood history. A native of Houston, Texas, she was a runner-up in a local pageant and moved to California to pursue a career in acting and modeling, and in 1969, Judis was the first African American woman on the cover of Playboy. Her acting credits include “The Beverly Hillbillies,” “Starsky and Hutch,” “The Jeffersons,” and many more. On the big screen, Judis starred in several Blaxploitation classics, including “T.N.T. Jackson” and “The Muthers.”
“I feel that the term, Blaxploitation, was a product of its time and was a way for Black filmmakers to create opportunities for themselves in the industry,” says Judis. “While it may have had some negative connotations, I am proud of the impact my films had in showcasing Black talent and stories at the time.”
Painting is among Judis’ many talents, and her home is full of her portraits, landscapes, and other themes. Several illustrations in “The Beverly Hills Jump Rope Queen” are also inspired by her paintings and the book’s messages of inclusion and friendship, with depictions of people with disabilities who can still exercise.
“I wanted to show people that even if you’re blind, you can jump rope,” says Judis, indicating several paintings in her studio. “His sister would clap her hands, and he would jump when he heard the clap. One lady over here, she’s got one leg, and she can jump rope. The guy with one arm… can still jump rope.”
A lifelong fitness devotee, Judis works with a trainer three times a week. His routine for her included planking and she challenged herself to go from one minute to two, leading to her newest world record. She was also propelled by the memory of her late husband, Gary Judis, who shared her commitment to exercise.
“I knew I could do two [minutes], but that particular day, I knew I could hold it longer and I went for four minutes,” says Annie Judis. “My husband and I would always compete against each other. When I was doing this planking, I was thinking that he was right next to me … telling me to ‘Keep going, keep going.’”
Judis looks forward to beating her own four-minute record next year, and was recently accepted as a senior contestant to the 2025 Miss California USA Pageant.
After her second Guinness record of skipping rope at age 75, Judis experienced an allergic reaction to a medication and fell into a coma for several days.
“I overcame it, and I think that I’m here because I have more work to do here … to motivate people, to let them know that you can live a healthy life if you take care of yourself while you’re young,” Judis says. “It’s never too late to start.”
“The Beverly Hills Jump Rope Queen” is available for pre-order and will be released on Amazon on Nov. 26.
