Martha Stewart
Martha Helen Stewart (née Kostyra, Polish: [kɔˈstɨra]; born August 3, 1941) is an American retail businesswoman, writer, and television personality. As the founder of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, focusing on home and hospitality,[1] she gained success through a variety of business ventures, encompassing publishing, broadcasting, merchandising and e-commerce. She has written numerous bestselling books, was the publisher of Martha Stewart Living magazine and hosted two syndicated television programs: Martha Stewart Living, which ran from 1993 to 2004, and The Martha Stewart Show, which ran from 2005 to 2012.
For the American actress, see Martha Stewart (actress). For the Australian soap opera character, see Martha Stewart (Home and Away).
Martha Stewart
Businesswoman, writer, television personality
In 2004, Stewart was convicted of felony charges related to the ImClone stock trading case; she served five months in federal prison for fraud and was released in March 2005. There was speculation that the incident would effectively end her media empire,[2] but in 2005 Stewart began a comeback campaign[3] and her company returned to profitability in 2006.[4] Stewart rejoined the board of directors of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia in 2011[5] and became chairwoman of her namesake company again in 2012.[6] The company was acquired by Sequential Brands in 2015.[7] Sequential Brands Group agreed in April 2019 to sell Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia including the Emeril brand to Marquee Brands for $175 million with benchmarked additional payments.[8]
Early life[edit]
Martha Stewart was born in Jersey City, New Jersey, on August 3, 1941.[9] She is the second of six children[10] born to parents Edward Kostyra (1912–1979) and Martha (née Ruszkowski; 1914–2007) and is of Polish heritage.[11][12][13] Both her parents were teachers, her father later becoming a pharmaceutical salesman.[14] When Stewart was three years old, the family moved to Nutley, New Jersey.[15][16] She adopted the name "Grace" for her Catholic confirmation name.[17]
When Stewart was 10, she worked as the occasional babysitter for the children of Mickey Mantle, Yogi Berra, and Gil McDougald, all players for the New York Yankees.[18] Mickey and Merlyn Mantle had four sons, whom Stewart watched and for whom she organized birthday parties.[19] She also began modeling. At 15, Stewart was featured in a television commercial for Unilever.[20] She went on to appear in television commercials and in magazines, including one of Tareyton's "Smokers would rather fight than switch!" cigarette advertisements.[21] During her college years, she supplemented her scholarship money through "modeling jobs at $15/hour — which was a lot of money at that time."[22] Among the companies she modeled for was Chanel.[23]
Stewart's mother taught her how to cook and sew.[24] Later, she learned the processes of canning and preserving when she visited her grandparents' home in Buffalo, New York.[25] Her father had a passion for gardening and passed on much of his knowledge and expertise to his daughter.[24] Stewart was also active in many extracurricular activities, such as the school's newspaper and art club.[26]
Stewart graduated from Nutley High School.[27] She attended Barnard College of Columbia University, originally planning to major in chemistry, but switching to art, history, and later architectural history. To help pay her college tuition, she did fashion modeling for Chanel.[28] During this time, she met Andrew Stewart, who finished his law degree at Yale Law School.[29] They married in July 1961.[30][31] She returned to Barnard a year after their marriage to graduate with a double major in history and architectural history.[28][32]
Recognition[edit]
In 1995, Stewart received the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement.[113]
In 1997, Martha Stewart was honored with an Edison Achievement Award[114] for her commitment to innovation throughout her career.
In 2018, Stewart was inducted into the New Jersey Hall of Fame.[115]
In 2020, Stewart was inducted into the Licensing International Hall of Fame.[116]
Portrayal in popular media[edit]
Martha Stewart has been portrayed and parodied in all forms of media. Two television films have been made out of her life story: Martha, Inc.: The Story of Martha Stewart (2003) and Martha: Behind Bars (2005). She was portrayed by Cybill Shepherd in both films.[117][118] A character loosely based on her, Judy King, featured in the television series Orange is the New Black.[119]
She also made a cameo appearance in the fourth season of HBO's High Maintenance.[120]
