I went gray at age 9, bullies called me ‘grandma’ — now I embrace it

She’s not letting grays stand in her way.

Zoë Miolla said she started going gray at age 9 — and her hair was 10% gray by the time she turned 12.

Now 25, Miolla tells SWNS she was often bullied, with people calling her “grandma.”

“When I was younger I just wanted to blend in,” explained Miolla, who hails from West Haven, Connecticut.

“The gray was concentrated at the top of my crown.”

She continued: “I had people call me a grandma. Or they’d ask me: ‘What is going on there?’”

Miolla recalled her father, Ralph, was the one who found the strand of gray when she was 9.

She remembered him “freaking out” at the time. But she says her father discovered his first silver strand when he was young, too, at just 12 years old.

Miolla’s grandmother, Annie Hogan, reportedly spotted her first gray hair when she was 14.

“My father, Ralph Miolla, always reminded me how beautiful our gray hair is,” Miolla recounted. “I always thought they had the healthiest, most beautiful hair.”

Now Miolla’s hair is 90% gray as she has embraced the look.

It wasn’t always that way.

After she noticed her hair was turning silver, Miolla decided to dye her hair black.

She said she did that for six years, every six weeks, with the help of her mom, before ditching the dye when she turned 18.

That’s when she started school at the Ringling College of Art and Design in Florida.

“I was at art school, so every hair color was embraced,” Miolla explained. “I was 50% gray by the time I was in college.”

She said she was 100% gray by 21, having grown her locks to her shoulders and trimming any remaining dark hair.

“I didn’t always embrace it and feel confident about it,” Miolla admitted. “Now it’s my defining trait.”

Miolla has revealed her hair journey on her TikTok page.

Her boyfriend, Matt Griffin, 32, is a big fan of her hair — although he didn’t think the color was real when they met at a Halloween party.

“Part of him just thought it was like that for the party,” Miolla said. “He definitely noticed it, that’s for sure.”

Griffin is a redhead, and the pair were able to bond over their unique hair colors.

“He loves my gray hair and applauds my confidence,” she enthused.

Miolla hopes to inspire others to learn to love their natural looks and locks.

“Gray hair is not a scary thing,” she insists. “Gray hair shows wisdom.”