The rise, fall & resurrection of Martha Stewart
Beautiful and blonde, Marta Stewart, born Martha Kostyra in New Jersey, could have been stuck in the mold of the stereotypical “dumb blonde,” imprisoned by false expectations. She could also have been just a so-called “Stepford wife,” having married up — to Andy Stewart, who at the time of their wedding was a Yale law student and later, a successful publisher.
Martha is “the first American woman to become a self-made billionaire, and the oldest to appear on the cover of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue.”
A trailblazer, and touted to be “the first influencer,” she made the circumstances of her birth (she had five siblings), childhood (she learned homemaking and gardening from her parents), marriage — even her five-month honeymoon — work for her. And through it all, she always endeavored to be the best she could be.
In Martha, she even discussed her “eye-opening” extended honeymoon to Europe, saying, “It did awaken in me a love of cuisine, a love of travel, a love of discovery. And I really felt, this is the thing I’d like to spend my life thinking about.”
Martha and Andy separated in 1987 and divorced three years later. They share a daughter, Alexis.
I watched Martha, a two-hour documentary streaming on Netflix since 2024, after I watched With Love, Meghan. The homemaking, gardening and DIY skills of both women were compared in many reviews, with some critics saying Meghan was no Martha — yet? After all, when a woman displays exceptional homemaking skills and able to balance home and career with astonishing results, she’s called a “Martha Stewart.” I find it a compliment to be described as a “Martha Stewart,” even if Martha has been in prison for an alleged white collar crime.
Martha reminds me of a saying I saw in a bookmark years ago (who still uses bookmarks these days, I wonder?): You cannot control the winds, but you can adjust the sails of your boat.
While in prison, Martha, a celebrity, learned new skills, gave a talk to women about starting a business and made the most of her knack for gardening.
“I have two mottos. One is learn something new every day, and the second one is when you’re through changing, you’re through,” Martha shared in the Netflix documentary.
In published interviews, she described her time in prison as a break, saying, “I had time for the very first time in many years, to contemplate, to get rid of the stress of the years. New friends, new ideas germinating. Ability, through it all, to be productive.”
She made the most of a humbling experience.
I loved the documentary. It was real-life with all the juicy elements of fiction. Young Martha looked like the young Candice Bergen, sometimes, like the iconic Grace Kelly. There was romance, betrayal, envy, success, failure and redemption. You can never truly know a person till perhaps you’ve lived or work with her — but in Martha, as I saw her in the documentary, I found a bible of truths. And though I am no self-made billionaire, I found Martha relatable in her struggles to make it in a man’s world with very feminine skills like cooking, tablescaping, gardening and flipping houses. She used her creativity as her armory, and conquered the world. Today, you say “Martha Stewart” and it’s as if you said “Oprah.” Her name rings a bell.
Martha always found ways to reinvent herself and emerge better, or transformed. After a brief stint as a stockbroker, she, Andy and their daughter Alexis relocated to Connecticut where she chose the most rundown home on the best street. They found Turkey Hill, a farmhouse that needed a total makeover and Martha herself did the work — and this was way before Joanna Gaines and Alison Victoria conquered HGTV. She said that without Turkey Hill, “I wouldn’t be who I am now.”
Since her husband headed a publishing firm, she hosted many gatherings in their renovated home for him. The praises she received for the way she entertained drew much admiration till she found herself in demand as a caterer. Then came the press interviews. Soon she had a lifestyle media empire. She will go down in history as having written and published 100 books over the course of her career.
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In the documentary, Martha is interviewed in what is presumably the living room of her home. She talks candidly about her life — some things she said about her husband Andy didn’t sit well with him and his present wife.
“Andy was extremely busy in his publishing business and when he was around, it was always strained,” one of Martha’s friends said in the documentary.
Added Martha: “He treated me really badly. And, in return, I guess I treated him badly.”
Martha thought her divorce would affect the sales of her wholesome books — and realized women were more interested in her entertaining tips than in the details of her love life. Tip: Don’t overthink things.
Even when she was catering to the snobby set, she dared market household items that bore her name in the Kmart chain.
As she grew older, Martha learned to adjust the sails of her life more.
“I’ve learned as one gets older, imperfections are a little bit more okay than they were when I was a little younger. I think imperfection is something you can deal with.”
Martha Stewart is certainly imperfect, not always loved, liked and lionized, but her track record shows that imperfection is an ingredient to the most perfect success if you throw in grit, talent, and hard work to the recipe. *
You may e-mail me at [email protected]. Follow me on Instagram @joanneraeramirez.
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