This article sets out to analyze how older women understand grandmotherhood. In-depth interviews were conducted with 25 elderly women from Quebec with diverse lives (widowed, married, single, with or without children) drawn from three generations (65-74 years, 75-84 years, 85 years and over) according to principles of qualitative analysis using grounded theory. Based on a constructivist approach, results highlight the evolution of images of grandmotherhood offering the benefit of emotional, playful and comforting roles. This analysis also reveals multiple ways of being a grandmother and commitments that vary according to three principal factors: (1) the personality and life trajectory of the grandmothers; (2) the family situation and role of crisis in the family; and (3) the degree of intimacy with grandchildren. There follows a discussion on the place and role of the family in the lives of older women today.