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Before her name became a byword for \u201cgood taste,\u201d Martha Stewart was born Martha Kostyra, the oldest daughter of six children in a well-to-do Polish Catholic family. Raised in Nutley, New Jersey, she displayed an entrepreneurial knack from an early age: A 10-year old Martha booked her first paid gig by planning birthday parties for the kids in her neighborhood. She began modeling as a teenager, earning $50 an hour to appear in ad campaigns for the likes of Chanel and Tareyton cigarettes. With her 5\u20199\u201d frame and knockout beauty, Stewart’s modeling portfolio radiates the same mix of cold charm and playful sensuality that would later define her entire brand.<\/p>\n
But it would take some time before Stewart became known, as David Letterman once referred to her, as the \u201cJames Brown of home entertaining.\u201d Stewart modeled into her early twenties, mostly as a way to supplement her scholarship money at Barnard College. After graduating with a degree in architectural history, she married Yale Law student Andy Stewart, had a daughter, Alexis, in 1965, and worked on Wall Street as the only female stockbroker at her firm. \u201cThe job taught me so much about what it takes to build a real business, a real company\u2014a meaningful and useful enterprise,\u201d Stewart later recalled<\/a>. \u201cYet it was not until I left Wall Street that I discovered my true entrepreneurial bent. I loved ideas. I loved building. I loved creating\u2026. And I loved making money as a result.\u201d <\/p>\n