Biography for
Martha Stewart (II) More at IMDbPro »

Date of Birth

3 August 1941, Nutley, New Jersey, USA

Birth Name

Martha Helen Kostyra

Height

5' 9½" (1.77 m)

Spouse

Andrew Stewart

(1 July 1961 - 1990) (divorced) 1 child

Trivia

One daughter: Alexis Stewart (b. 27 September 1965).

Graduated from Barnard College with a degree in History and Architectural History. She got married during her sophomore year.

Used to work as a stockbroker.

Was named one of People magazine's "50 Most Beautiful People in the World 1996".

Sleeps four hours a night with the lights on so when she wakes up she can get right to work.

Used to work as a model to pay her college tuition.

Daughter Alexis owns the American Fitness Factory gym in Sag Harbor, New York.

Graduated from Nutley High School. In a version of the school paper that year, she had already begun her modelling career and hoped to enter the field of broadcast journalism.

Her father taught her gardening; her mother taught her how to cook, bake and sew. Their next door neighbors (retired bakers) taught her how to bake pies and cakes.

2nd of six children of Polish immigrants.

Her mother is also named Martha.

Took her company public (19 October 1999)

One of Glamour magazine's "Best Dressed College Girls of 1961."

One of the first female stockbrokers (at Perlberg, Monness, Williams and Sidel) on Wall Street. She got her license on 14 August 1968.

Convicted of four felony charges on 5 March 2004: conspiracy to obstruct justice, make false statements, and commit perjury; false statements (2 counts); obstruction of justice. Result of investigation into her sale of ImClone stock.

Her designated federal inmate prison number is 55170-054

Bought her Katonah estate for 16 million dollars

Mother of Alexis Stewart and ex-mother-in-law of John R. Cuti.

Due to her criminal record, she was forced to cancel her trip to Nova Scotia to attend an annual pumpkin festival in October 2005. In the past she would have been free to go, but because of her record requires a visa to enter Canada. Days later she was granted a visa in record time thus drawing the ire of critics who say that she was given undue political favor.

Cites Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House (1948), 'Round Midnight (1986), and Choose Me (1984) as her must-have movies.

Her mother, Martha Kostyra, passed away November 16, 2007 at age 93.

In 2006, she donated $5 million to New York's Mt. Sinai Hospital for a center on healthy aging.

She was inducted into the 2011 New Jersey Hall of Fame for her services and contributions to Enterprise.

Personal Quotes

It's a good thing!

I catnap now and then, but I think while I nap, so it's not a waste of time.

[after her five-month confinement in federal prison] "The experience of the last five months ... has been life-altering and life-affirming. Someday I hope to have the chance to talk more about all that has happened, the extraordinary people I have met here and all that I have learned."

[on the passing of Elaine Kaufman] After my divorce, having drinks and dinner at Elaine's was the literati of New York was the best cure...Elaine was always in residence and as interesting as any of her guests.

So the pie isn't perfect? Cut it into wedges. Stay in control, and never panic.