New Jersey’s own Martha Stewart was born in Jersey City on August 3rd, 1941 as Martha Kostyra.

When she was 3, her family moved to Nutley which is where she grew up; she graduated from Nutley High School. It’s been reported that as a young girl she babysat for the children of New York Yankees Mickey Mantle and Yogi Berra. Stewart started modeling as a teenager and that work helped pay her way through college. After graduation, she became a stockbroker, but left that field to open a catering business.

That career led to a series of cookbooks, magazine articles, and television appearances on shows like Oprah which really ignited her career. She started her own magazine Martha Stewart Living and that led to her own TV show of the same name. She was a multimedia star! She formed her own company (Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia), took it public, and became a billionaire, although she’s worth less than a billion now.

Judge Sets Martha Stewart Trial Date
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In 2002, a jury found her guilty of conspiracy, obstruction of justice, and making false statements in an insider stock trading scandal. She was fined $30,000 and sentenced to five months in jail. She was released from prison in 2005 and her career came roaring back. Not only did she continue her syndicated Martha Stewart Living TV show, she also hosted a spin-off of The Apprentice, although it was not renewed for a second season.

Prison certainly didn’t make her career suffer; her net worth is estimated to be $628 million. She was inducted into the New Jersey Hall of Fame in 2018.

The post above reflects the thoughts and observations of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Bill Doyle. Any opinions expressed are Bill Doyle's own.

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