Martha was raised in Nutley, New Jersey, in a family of six children, where she was encouraged to be curious about everything. She developed her passion for cooking, gardening and home keeping at an early age. Her mother taught her the basics of cooking, baking, canning, and sewing; her father introduced her to gardening at the age of three. Martha earned a bachelor’s degree in history and architectural history at Barnard College. Upon graduating, she became a stockbroker on Wall Street, where she gained her early business training. After moving to Westport, Connecticut, in 1972, she developed a catering business that showcased her remarkable talent and originality. Her unique visual presentation of food and the elegant recipes she created for her thriving event and catering business were the basis for her first book, Entertaining, published in 1982. This year she will publish her 100th book.
Martha’s business sense and creative vision provided the framework for launching her namesake company, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia in 1996, an expansive multimedia portfolio built around her eponymous Martha Stewart Living. Her television shows have collectively earned 18 Emmy Daytime Awards and five James Beard Foundation Awards.
The Martha Stewart™ brand reaches over 100 million fans per month, with over 13 million followers on social media, and continues to inspire new devotees everyday through channels including The Martha Stewart Podcast (in partnership with iHeart), three series on The Roku Channel, and through products that can be found at multiple retailers around the world.
Martha is a member of the “TIME 100” list and was named one of “America’s 25 Most Influential People” by TIME. She was included on the list of “50 Most Powerful Women” by Fortune magazine five times, and she has been named by Forbes magazine one of the “100 Greatest Living Business Minds.”
She established the Martha Stewart Center for Living at the Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York, with a mission to help older adults to live healthier, longer lives. Martha serves on the board of Hudson River Park Friends.
Martha is the proud mother of Alexis Stewart and grandmother of Jude and Truman Stewart.