Martha Stewart may be best known for her lifestyle brand consisting of cookbooks, cookware and home decor, and most recently, oddly enough, being one of Snoop Dogg’s closest homies, but before becoming the icon she is today, Stewart’s life appeared to be heading in an entirely different direction.
Born August 3, 1941 in Jersey City, New Jersey, Martha began her professional life as a model at the age of 13, appearing in fashion shows, along with television and print ads.
After graduating from Barnard College in Manhattan in 1962, Martha would eventually find herself working as a stockbroker at boutique firm Monness, Williams, and Sidel. She left the firm in 1972 when she and then-husband, Andy Stewart, moved to Connecticut, where the couple restored a 19th-century farmhouse. It was there that she discovered her passion for gourmet cooking.
She trained herself by reading Mastering the Art of French Cooking by the incomparable Julia Child. Inspired by her newfound love of cooking, Martha and a friend, Norma Collier, started a catering company in the late 1970s called Uncatered Affair. Unafraid of being opulent and lavish, Martha and Collier partner enjoyed quick success, becoming known for gourmet menus and creative presentation.
The clear desire for Martha’s style gave her the idea for her first book, Entertaining, published on January 1, 1982, when she was 41 years old. That was just Martha’s first step in launching her brand beyond the cosmos.
In 1987, she was approached by Kmart for an exclusive deal in which they sold Martha Stewart-branded furniture, towels and other home decor until the two sides parted ways in 2009 when the deal with the discount chain went sour.
In that time, Martha released a whole host of books and magazines, including Martha Stewart Living in the winter of 1990. Soon after, in 1991, Martha Stewart Inc. became Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, Inc.
She launched her first TV show, aptly named Martha Stewart Living, in 1993. She also somehow had time to write a syndicated newspaper column, host a radio show, and with the invention of the internet, launch her own website.
But the juggernaut that Martha had become in the roughly 20 years since starting her catering business was no more apparent than on October 19,1999. On that day, when she took her company public, it was worth nearly $2 billion dollars. And, of course, Martha not only rang the bell at the New York Stock Exchange, she also catered the event.
But Martha’s star would soon fall with the widely publicized insider trading case against her. Rumors began swirling about Martha in June of 2002, and in 2003, she was indicted on multiple charges. she maintained her innocence throughout, claiming that the money she made from the transaction in question was so minuscule that it wouldn’t have been worth breaking the law. Nevertheless, Martha was found guilty in February 2004 of conspiracy, obstruction of justice and two counts of making false statements. She was sentenced to 5 months in prison and fined $30,000.
“I thought a divorce was the worst time of my life,” Martha told Barbara Walters in a 20/20 interview at the time. “This is far worse.”
Before being released from prison on March 4, 2005, Martha had inked a deal with NBC to host two new shows: a daytime how-to show, and a spinoff of The Apprentice. Martha’s Apprentice spinoff was a failure, but, possibly helped along by her newfound street cred, she would make a return to prime-time television a decade later in the most unexpected way.
In 2016, Martha and Snoop’s Potluck Dinner Party premiered. Martha and Snoop Dogg, the gangsta rapper turned…everything, hosted celebrity guests as they made dinner, and sat down for a family-style dinner at the end of each episode, all the while making small talk about anything that crossed their minds. Though the show only lasted two seasons, the pairing of Martha and Mr. Dogg has carried on. She made a cameo in Snoop’s Skechers commercial that aired during Super Bowl LVII.
Then, at the age of 81, she made history with a move very few likely saw coming. In May of 2023, Stewart was revealed as the oldest woman ever to grace the cover of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue. She appeared in a total of ten looks for the magazine.
It appears as though Martha, now 82 years old, has risen well beyond the gourmet cooking and home decor icon she once was, and has found a new space in the hearts of young people, suddenly becoming cool in her old age, and that’s a good thing.
Stephen Proctor is a freelance writer who also writes for The Cool Down, along with multiple projects currently in various stages of production. Stephen previously worked as a writer and producer at Yahoo! and Hearst Digital Studios.
