Campfire - can I call you Dawn? It's my all-time favourite female name.
IT'S NOT TOO LATE! Read my lips, as your next president's father used to say. (sorry about that..please, no political rejoiners) A lot of folks start to play in their 60s! I know cause I've taught several of them. One of the reasons that I made a conscious decision 11 years ago to play concerts half the time and teach the other half, is the absolute joy I get from seeing people learn to HAVE FUN with music.
The hardest thing to do is be a long time player and realise that you are not getting the full benefits from your experience. I really hope I'm not over-stepping the line here but what the hell! Peter T has been playing for many years but felt he might benefit from a couple of sessions, so we got together. He has accumulated a vast array of skills, but I felt something very basic was missing. His right hand picking was far too complicated and consequently it was hard to hear the actual "beat" of the song, making it very difficult to play along with him. I've asked him to break his right hand style into 3 or 4 far simpler patterns, (one involving a flat pick) and this can take a few weeks to do. Most folks in this situation cant bring themselves to "unlearn" that which they've been doing for so many years and consequently they will always have difficulty playing with others. Peter has kept an open mind, worked at it and probably very soon will reap a lot of benefits from harnessing a simpler approach. Immediately after, he'll be able to decorate this style with dozens of interesting variations - but only because he had the patience to re-learn the basics.
Sorry Peter, I really didn't mean to expose your right hand to the world!

Fadac, make sure she gets one with a straight neck. If you can find one of the Japanese banjos, from the seventies or early eighties (El Degas, Ibanez, Fender, Washburn etc.) They are really well made, and are pretty cheap. Most of the Korean ones (even with the same names) are pretty bad.
rick