Martha Helen Stewart (
née Kostyra; born August 3, 1941) is an American
business magnate,
television host, author and magazine publisher. As founder of
Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, she has gained success through a variety of business ventures, encompassing publishing, broadcasting, and merchandising. Stewart's
syndicated talk show,
Martha, is broadcast throughout the world, she has written numerous bestselling books, and she is the publisher of
Martha Stewart Living magazine.
In 2001, Stewart was named the third most powerful woman in America by
Ladies Home Journal. In 2004, she was convicted of lying to investigators about a stock sale and served five months in prison. Stewart began a comeback campaign in 2005,
[The Reinvention of Martha Stewart, BusinessWeek] with her company returning to profitability in 2006.
[Martha Stewart Living posts a quarterly profit, MSNBC]