Before she was a businesswoman, television personality, and inside trader, a young Martha Stewart modeled professionally.
Martha Stewart was born on August 3, 1941, in Jersey City, New Jersey. Her first job was babysitting for members of the New York Yankees like Mickey Mantle, Gil McDougald, and Yogi Berra.
When she was fifteen, she began a modeling career in a Unilever commercial. She continued to model for companies like Chanel, Breck, Clairol, and Lifebuoy Soap.
One of her most famous gigs was with Tareyton cigarettes for their “Us Tareyton smokers would rather fight than switch” ads. She appeared in a print ad alongside actor Lyle Waggoner.
Martha Stewart attended Barnard College, majoring in chemistry and art, before finally settling on architectural history and history. The $50/hour she earned from modeling helped supplement a scholarship to pay her college tuition.
Let’s take a look at some fantastic vintage photos of a young Martha Stewart.
Martha Stewart started modeling when she was fifteen, but most of her modeling was while she was a student at Barnard College.
She had a scholarship, but living in New York was expensive even back then. Modeling was a great way to help pay her tuition.
The pay was $50/hr, which was fantastic for the time. That’s the equivalent of around $440 today.
These photos were mostly taken in the 1960s.
Her father was an avid gardener who taught his daughter much of what he knew.
Stewart’s mother taught her to sew and cook, and her grandparents taught her about canning and preserving.
During her career, a young Martha Stewart walked the runway in many fashion shows.
She married Andrew Stewart in 1961 after he finished law degree from Yale.
After her wedding, she took a year off from school before returning to Barnard to finish her double major in history and architectural history.
She was extremely intelligent as well as beautiful. In 1967, she became a stockbroker with the help of her father-in-law. Maybe she should have known better about insider trading?
She eventually started a catering business with a friend she met while modeling.
After a lot of success, the partnership soured. Stewart eventually bought out her partner.
Eventually, she even opened her own popular gourmet food store.
Meanwhile, Andrew Stewart became the president of Harry N. Abrams, Inc., a major New York publisher.
During the book release of The Secret Book of Gnomes, Andrew hired his wife to cater the party.
Publisher Alan Mirken was impressed with her skills and offered her a book deal. Her first book, Entertaining, was published in 1982; the rest is history!
(Photos courtesy of Martha Stewart, via Business Insider)
