Photo courtesy of The Green Lady / Instagram @greenladyofbrooklyn
There are people in this world who live in beige and gray, and then there are people who’ve decided that one color deserves all their devotion, which seems rather sensible when you think about it properly. In the Cobble Hill neighborhood of Brooklyn, you might encounter a woman of eighty-three years who has made the most curious and delightful decision: to wear nothing but the brightest, most cheerful green you’ve ever laid eyes upon. Her hair matches her dress, which matches her shoes, which matches the very walls of her home. This is Elizabeth Sweetheart, and asking who is the green lady of brooklyn opens up a story that’s far more interesting than ordinary tales of fashion or whimsy.
The truly marvelous part of Elizabeth’s story is that she never set out to become famous or collect admirers, though she now has nearly seven hundred thousand people following her adventures on Instagram. She simply decided around the year 2000 that green was her color, completely and entirely, and why should anyone stop at just wearing green when they could live green, breathe green, surround themselves with thirty pairs of green overalls and emerald teacups and lime-colored doorways? Most people would call this excessive. Elizabeth would likely giggle and say it’s just exactly enough. The world watched her commit so fully to this singular vision and found themselves charmed, not because she was performing for anyone, but because she was being precisely and wonderfully herself.
Table of Contents
The Woman Behind the Green
Photo courtesy of The Green Lady / Instagram @greenladyofbrooklyn
Elizabeth Eaton Rosenthal was born in 1941 in Amherst, Nova Scotia, which is about as far from the bustling chaos of Brooklyn as you can get while still being on the same continent. She studied fine arts at Mount Allison University under the tutelage of Alex Colville, a rather famous Canadian painter who taught her to see the world through an artist’s eyes. But Canada, lovely as it was, didn’t have the sort of work opportunities a young artist dreamed about.
So in 1964, Elizabeth did what any sensible young woman with big dreams and little money would do: she stuck out her thumb and hitchhiked all the way to New York City, which must have seemed like either a brilliant idea or complete madness, depending on who you asked.
Two years later, in 1966, she wandered into a Ukrainian restaurant called Veselka in the East Village, where she met a man named Robert. They’ve now been married for fifty-six years, which suggests that sometimes the best decisions are made over pierogies and borscht. Elizabeth worked as an artist and printmaker in the garment industry, spending her days surrounded by fabrics and colors and patterns. She lived what most people would call a perfectly normal New York life, raising a family, creating art, navigating the beautiful mess of the city. But somewhere along the way, green began calling to her more insistently than any other color, and she listened.
The Day Everything Turned Green
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Around the year 2000, something shifted in Elizabeth’s world, though she can’t pinpoint the exact moment when green stopped being just a color she liked and became the color she needed to wear every single day. It wasn’t a dramatic revelation or a carefully planned transformation. More like waking up one morning and realizing that green made her happier than any other shade, and why should happiness be rationed or mixed with compromise? She began dyeing her clothes green, then her hair, then gradually everything else that entered her orbit.
Her husband Robert, bless him, simply accepted this evolution the way you might accept that your wife prefers tea instead of coffee, except in this case it was lime green overalls instead of, well, anything else.
The collection grew in the most delightful way that collections do when they’re driven by genuine passion rather than obligation. Thirty pairs of overalls, all dyed the precise shade of green that makes Elizabeth’s heart sing. Her home became a gallery of emerald and lime and forest shades, every room a different variation on her favorite theme. The doorway glows neon green like a beacon. The staircase, the kitchen, even the silverware all committed to the cause. Neighbors began leaving green offerings on her doorstep, candles and housewares and trinkets, as though she’d become a kind of patron saint of color devotion. And perhaps, in her own way, she had.
When the Internet Discovered Her Magic
Photo courtesy of The Green Lady / Instagram @greenladyofbrooklyn
Social media has a peculiar way of finding the most genuine souls and amplifying them, though it often buries them under mountains of people who are trying terribly hard to be noticed. Elizabeth never tried at all, which is precisely why the internet fell so completely under her spell. Someone spotted her at a farmer’s market or walking down the street, her green hair catching the sunlight, her infectious giggle floating through the air, and they had to share this vision with the world.
The videos and photos spread the way truly delightful things do, quickly and organically, because people recognized something rare: pure, unfiltered joy that asked for nothing in return.
Her Instagram account grew to nearly seven hundred thousand followers, which is the sort of number that professional influencers chase with carefully curated content and strategic posting schedules. Elizabeth simply posts photos of herself being exactly who she is, wearing her green overalls, showing off a new green treasure, smiling that enormous smile that crinkles her whole face. The comments overflow with heart emojis and declarations of love from strangers who’ve never met her but feel like they know her soul. She responds to many of them with the same warmth she’d give a neighbor, because to Elizabeth, there isn’t much difference between a follower and a friend. The algorithm, cold and calculating as it usually is, couldn’t help but spread her joy far and wide.
The Philosophy of Living in One Color
Photo courtesy of The Green Lady / Instagram @greenladyofbrooklyn
There’s something rather profound hiding beneath the surface of Elizabeth’s green devotion, though she’d probably just laugh and say she simply likes the color very much. But consider what it means to commit so completely to a single choice in a world that constantly insists you need variety, options, and the freedom to change your mind every season. Elizabeth looked at the infinite possibilities of color and said, “No thank you, I’ve found what makes me happy, and I’m going to live inside it fully.”
This is the opposite of how most people approach life, always keeping doors open and hedging bets and wondering if something better might come along. She closed every door except one, and that singular focus brought her more joy than a thousand choices ever could.
The green isn’t about limiting herself or rejecting beauty in other forms. It’s about understanding herself so completely that she knows exactly what feeds her soul. When you visit her home, you don’t see monotony or obsession. You see countless shades of green playing together, lime dancing with emerald, neon brightening forest tones, each room telling a slightly different story within the same color family. She’s created an entire universe inside one wavelength of light, proving that depth doesn’t require breadth. Her life asks an interesting question that more people might benefit from considering: what would happen if you stopped sampling everything and instead dove deeply into the one thing that truly makes you come alive?
The Ambassador of Love and Laughter
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Elizabeth calls herself an ambassador of LOVE, which she writes in capital letters because ordinary lowercase simply won’t do for something so important. This isn’t just a clever title she’s given herself for social media purposes. It’s how she actually moves through the world, treating every interaction as an opportunity to spread a bit of warmth and silliness. Her giggle has become as famous as her green hair, this infectious laugh that bubbles up constantly and makes everyone around her start smiling without quite knowing why.
When people meet her on the street, they don’t just notice the green. They notice how she makes them feel, like they’ve just run into an old friend who’s genuinely delighted to see them, even though they’ve never met before.
This approach to life has turned her into something more than just a local character or internet personality. She’s become a kind of living reminder that joy doesn’t have to be complicated or earned through achievement. It can simply exist because you decide it will. People leave green gifts on her doorstep not because she’s asked for them, but because she’s inspired them to participate in her happiness. Brands like JetBlue, Bumble, and Kate Spade have reached out to collaborate with her, recognizing that her authenticity is worth more than any polished marketing campaign. But even with these opportunities, Elizabeth remains exactly who she’s always been: a woman who wears green, loves people, and giggles her way through life without pretense or performance.
A Marriage That Embraced the Unusual
Photo courtesy of The Green Lady / Instagram @greenladyofbrooklyn
Not every husband would watch his wife gradually turn their entire shared existence green and respond with quiet acceptance and support, but Robert Rosenthal is not every husband. They met in 1966 at Veselka, that cozy Ukrainian restaurant in the East Village, and have been together for fifty-six years, which means their relationship has weathered far more significant challenges than a color preference. When Elizabeth began her green transformation around 2000, Robert could have objected or negotiated for at least one room in a different shade.
Instead, he let her follow this strange and wonderful calling, understanding that the woman he loved was happiest when she could be entirely herself, even if that self happened to be lime-colored from head to toe.
Their partnership reveals something touching about what it means to truly love someone. Robert didn’t need to understand why green mattered so much to Elizabeth. He only needed to understand that it did matter, deeply and genuinely, and that supporting her joy was more important than maintaining a traditionally decorated home. He appears occasionally in her social media posts, this quieter presence beside her vibrant green energy, and you can see in those glimpses that he’s proud of what she’s become. Their relationship suggests that the best marriages aren’t about two people wanting the same things, but about two people giving each other space to want wildly different things and celebrating those differences. Elizabeth got to live in green, and Robert got to live with someone who radiates happiness. Both won.
The Art of Being Yourself at Eighty-Three
Photo courtesy of The Green Lady / Instagram @greenladyofbrooklyn
Growing older in a culture obsessed with youth can make people feel invisible, as though their stories have already been told and nothing interesting remains. Elizabeth turned this expectation completely on its head, becoming more visible and more celebrated in her eighties than many people manage in their entire lives. She didn’t achieve this by fighting against age or pretending to be younger than she is. She did it by becoming more authentically herself with each passing year, letting go of whatever small concerns about other people’s opinions she might have once carried.
At eighty-three, she’s reached that marvelous stage of life where you’ve earned the right to do exactly as you please, and she’s chosen to please herself with green and joy and unrestrained laughter.
There’s a particular kind of freedom that comes with age when you pair it with the right attitude, and Elizabeth embodies this perfectly. She’s not trying to prove anything or achieve some final accomplishment before time runs out. She’s simply living each day surrounded by the color that makes her happy, connecting with people who brighten her world, and sharing her infectious enthusiasm with anyone who crosses her path. Younger generations look at her and see not someone old-fashioned or out of touch, but someone who’s figured out something essential that many people spend their whole lives missing. She’s proof that it’s never too late to make a bold choice, that being yourself completely is always in style, and that the best time to start living exactly as you wish is right now, whether you’re twenty-three or eighty-three.
The Green Home as Living Art
Photo courtesy of The Green Lady / Instagram @greenladyofbrooklyn
Elizabeth’s commitment to green extends far beyond her wardrobe into every corner of her living space, transforming her Brooklyn home into what can only be described as an immersive art installation that she happens to live inside. The neon green doorway glows like a portal to another dimension, announcing to anyone passing by that something wonderfully unusual exists beyond that threshold. Inside, each room explores different personalities within the green family: the evergreen staircase offers a deeper, forest-like quality, while the kitchen bursts with brighter lime tones that make morning coffee feel like a celebration.
Even her silverware has been carefully selected or painted to match the theme, because why should forks and spoons be exempt from the grand vision?
This transformation of domestic space into art speaks to Elizabeth’s background as a trained artist and printmaker. She understands color theory and visual harmony in ways that prevent her home from feeling overwhelming or chaotic despite its monochromatic intensity. Each shade of green has been chosen deliberately to work with the others, creating depth and interest within apparent limitation. The result is something museum-worthy, yet completely livable and warm. Visitors often report feeling embraced by the green rather than assaulted by it, as though they’ve stepped into Elizabeth’s emotional landscape made physical. Her home proves that living as art and living comfortably don’t have to be opposing ideas, that you can create something visually striking while still having a space that feels like home.
The Ripple Effect of Radical Self-Expression
Photo courtesy of The Green Lady / Instagram @greenladyofbrooklyn
Elizabeth’s green life has created something unexpected and rather beautiful in her Brooklyn neighborhood and beyond. She’s become a kind of permission slip for other people to embrace their own peculiarities without shame or hesitation. When neighbors see her walking down the street in her lime green glory, they’re reminded that conformity is optional and that the world has room for people who color outside the lines. Children especially seem to understand her immediately, recognizing a kindred spirit who believes that rules about what adults should wear or how homes should look are merely suggestions that can be politely ignored.
Parents report their kids asking if they too can pick one color and make it their whole personality, which is perhaps the highest compliment a child can offer.
The impact extends beyond her immediate community through her substantial social media presence. People from around the world send messages telling her that she’s inspired them to pursue their own unusual passions, whether that’s collecting vintage typewriters or wearing only purple or finally starting that garden they’ve been dreaming about for years. She’s demonstrated that living authentically doesn’t require anyone’s approval and that the people who matter will either celebrate your choices or at least respect them enough to let you be. Elizabeth never set out to be inspirational or to teach anyone lessons about self-acceptance. She simply decided to live in green, and in doing so, accidentally showed thousands of people that joy multiplies when you stop apologizing for what makes you different.
FAQs
Yes! Since around 2000, she’s worn exclusively green clothing, including her brightly dyed lime green hair, and owns about 30 pairs of green overalls.
Robert has been supportive for their 56-year marriage, embracing Elizabeth’s green transformation and allowing their shared home to reflect her colorful vision.
She’s collaborated with brands like JetBlue, Bumble, and Kate Spade, though she never set out to monetize her authentic lifestyle and green devotion.
Her home is private, though neighbors and fans often leave green gifts on her doorstep. She’s frequently spotted around Cobble Hill enjoying her neighborhood.
She studied fine arts in Canada, hitchhiked to NYC in 1964, and worked as an artist and printmaker in the garment industry before her green transformation.
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