You know Martha Stewart as the crafts-and-cooking guru who has dominated print and broadcast media. You know her as the stockowner who ran into a bit of trouble with the feds. Today, let’s look at five things you might not know about Stewart.
1. She Was a Model and a Stockbroker
From the time she was in high school through her days at Barnard College, Stewart had a relatively successful modeling career. She did some in-store work for Bonwit Teller, and she later did TV spots for Clairol and Tareyton Cigarettes. Her biggest exposure came in 1961, when Glamour magazine named her one of America’s “Ten Best-Dressed College Girls.” The modeling career ended when she married Yale law student Andrew Stewart in 1963.
In 1967 Stewart went back to work, but this time she took on Wall Street rather than the runway. According to a 2001 Vanity Fair feature, Stewart used her modeling experience to her advantage once she became a stockbroker, even going so far as to wear hot pants to meetings. She eventually became one of the only female brokers at Perlberg, Monness, Williams and Sidel, but she left in 1973 to spend more time with her daughter.
Another odd fact about Stewart’s time as a broker: one of her fellow brokers was an up-and-coming actor named Brian Dennehy.
2. She Keeps Her Horses In the Dark
Stewart’s Cantitoe Farm follows a strict aesthetic scheme: everything on the property is either gray or black. All of the buildings are gray, while all of the animals are black. Every sheep, cow, horse, and dog on the farm is black. There’s only one problem with this rigidity, though—Stewart owns five black Friesian draft horses that will turn red when they’re exposed to the sun.
According to a 2005 Vanity Fair profile, Stewart’s horses got too much sun one summer and turned red. She was none too pleased with the affront to her color scheme, so she instructed the horses’ grooms to keep them inside their stables during daylight. Once the sun goes down, the horses are free to run and play as they like.
3. She Wasn’t Great at Being Under House Arrest
Your probably remember Stewart’s prison hitch after being embroiled in an insider-trading scandal. What you might not remember is that she actually ended up spending more time in 2005 under house arrest than she had planned.
According to the terms of Stewart’s house arrest, the domestic wizard was allowed out of her home in suburban New York for 48 hours a week for work, food shopping, medical appointments, and religious services. She was originally slated to spend five months in home confinement complete with an ankle bracelet that tracked her movements.
Stewart apparently decided these rules were not good things, though. She allegedly left home to attend a yoga class, and she also spent time motoring around her estate in a Kawasaki Mule off-road vehicle. In August 2005 her lawyer announced that she had agreed to spend an extra three weeks under home confinement as a result of these transgressions.
4. She Tried to Trademark a Town’s Name
In 2007 Stewart created a controversy when she attempted to trademark the word “Katonah” for a line of her home furnishings and paints. What made people so angry? Katonah, New York, is actually an unincorporated hamlet in Westchester County, and folks weren’t too pleased about having their home’s name trademarked. On top of that, local stores that sold furniture and hardware worried that they couldn’t keep the word “Katonah” in their stores’ names if Stewart became a trademark-holding competitor.
Stewart also ran into heavy opposition from the Ramapough Lenape Indian Nation. Katonah was named after one of the nation’s chiefs, and the nation’s representative said, “If it’s being done for profit, then of course it’s offensive.”
As of this writing, everyone from the Katonah Village Improvement Society to Katonah Architectural Hardware Limited to Katonah Paint & Hardware, Inc. are appealing Stewart’s right to trademark the Hamlet’s name.
5. She’s No Rachael Ray Fan
Last November Stewart ignited a firestorm of controversy by slamming cooking personality Rachael Ray on Nightline. When asked about Ray’s cooking skills and approach in the kitchen, Stewart said that Ray’s techniques were “not good enough for me.” Ouch. To make things worse, Stewart’s burn came after she and Ray had appeared on each other’s shows.
Stewart quickly jumped into damage control mode and publicly made amends with Ray. On the next episode of her show, Stewart stood next to guest Emeril Lagasse and said, “”I truly believe that Rachael has done a terrific job bringing people — many people who would of never have even stepped into the kitchen or made a dish — to cook.”
Ray later admitted that Stewart is more advanced in the kitchen than she is and said there were no hard feelings.
See more of Martha’s modeling photos at ToryBurch.com. ’5 Things You Didn’t Know About…’ appears every Friday. If there’s someone you’d like to see covered, leave us a comment. You can read the previous installments here.
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i like martha despite what anyone says. she is uber creative.
posted by Katie Rose on 3-19-2010 at 2:30 pm
I could be as awesome as Martha if I had such an amazing team of creative geniuses behind me!
Love her anyway. =)
posted by Jen on 3-19-2010 at 2:36 pm
She is a terrible woman. Fake, dishonest, backstabbing, superficial beeatch. She should not be a role model for any respectable young ladies. Her heart is made of plastic and her eyes are beady coals of greed and fire. A plague on Ms. Stewart and all she stands for.
posted by Eric on 3-19-2010 at 2:43 pm
When I think of Martha all I can imagine is hammocks for cats. Is that something real or was that a SNL skit?
posted by JOHN THE THIRD on 3-19-2010 at 2:53 pm
And lets not forget to mention that she’s crazy as a loon. Only black animals on the farm and keeps her black horses out of the sun so they don’t turn red. WTF is that? It truly boggles the mind.
posted by Eric on 3-19-2010 at 2:54 pm
Well Eric, I’m not sure I understand your position. Could you please elaborate a little more so I can fully comprehend your feelings about Ms. Stewart.
posted by TXCherokee on 3-19-2010 at 3:58 pm
WTF with the horses?! I think that is wrong. Animals need sun light. I bet those are some depressed horses.
posted by Stacy on 3-19-2010 at 3:59 pm
After she had Snoop on her show…
I questioned her sanity. BUT I would be lying if I didn’t say I think she is kind of cool.
posted by Chrystani on 3-19-2010 at 4:09 pm
I liked her before reading this article. Those poor animals! And then violating her house arrest just because she felt like it? People like this feel so entitled because we let them do whatever they want for some inexplicable reason!
posted by nicole on 3-19-2010 at 4:14 pm
She has some great ideas and good for her for being so successful and self-made… but her farm sounds like a mental institution. I could never live my life in one color scheme! Give me touches of chaos over Martha-Stewart-approved perfection any day!
posted by BorgQueen on 3-19-2010 at 4:17 pm
I don’t like her either. I thoroughly dislike her, in fact. I got pushed from apathy to active dislike on an episode of her show when she was sitting with children and knitting. She asked one of them how long she had been knitting, and the answer came back six months or a year or something, and Martha SMIRKED and said, “Then you should know better than to drop a stitch like you did back there.”
WTF? As my mom put it, if that were my child I’d be launching out of the wings and giving her a black eye right there on stage.
posted by Nicole on 3-19-2010 at 4:21 pm
The horses in the dark thing was actually a misrepresentation of what was the normal schedule around the barn. I worked there (with the horses) for a while, and they lived outside at night and came in during the day so we could feed, groom, and ride them. They got plenty of sunlight and are very happy horses. Oh, and one of her dogs, who recently passed away, was brown. Regarding Martha, she was never anything but nice to me.
posted by Maeve on 3-19-2010 at 5:08 pm
Katy, I apologize, but who uses the word “uber”?
posted by Jay on 3-19-2010 at 5:16 pm
@Jay. Katie is in good company with a few million speakers of the German language. I am sure she regrets the missing umlaut.
But this is about Martha, a remarkable person for any reason you choose to emphasize. Attempts to trademark geographic names or deceased leaders do seem despicable, however.
posted by Tom on 3-19-2010 at 6:08 pm
I can’t believe that she is so petty (is that even the right word?) so as to keep her horses locked up during the day so that they won’t turn red? That says loads about her personality.
posted by bowmanspartan on 3-19-2010 at 6:11 pm
I love making fun of Martha just as much as everyone else does, but I must admit that her recipes always turn out great. In fact, I just made a batch of her soft and chewy chocolate chip cookies this morning. They are amazingly good.
posted by Brooke on 3-19-2010 at 6:14 pm
I can’t be the only one who thinks there’s a major problem with those horses never seeing daylight.
posted by Amanda on 3-19-2010 at 6:18 pm
She’s actually gotten a lot cooler since she got outta the joint and, dare I say it, pretty hot for an old broad.
posted by Luke on 3-19-2010 at 9:16 pm
I’d like to see a 5 Things You Didn’t Know About Anderson Cooper.
posted by Angeline on 3-19-2010 at 9:24 pm
God — I hate that woman.
posted by Leslie on 3-19-2010 at 11:45 pm
those poor horses! how petty can you be to take an animal out of the sunlight so they don’t turn red? why couldn’t she just have done her research before buying them and buy a breed that DOESN’T turn red? seriously, why are so many people incapable of doing research before they buy animals?
posted by tess on 3-20-2010 at 1:19 pm
First of all those recipes are ‘hers’ nor are most of her crafting ideas (although I’m sure they were at some point) The woman has a army of people working for her. Who design the magazine, crafts, and recipes that you see. She’s really more of the CEO, although I’m sure she has some input.
I used to know a girl who worked at her magazine and she had tons of horror stories. My personal favorite was that whenever Martha would come into the office, she would pass by staff members desks and rearrange them if she didn’t like their setup. Totally and completely OCD.
posted by Callie on 3-21-2010 at 8:52 am
What’s so bad about red horses anyway?
posted by PunKid on 3-21-2010 at 10:46 am
Martha is FREAKING CRAZY!!! those poor horses can’t see daylight, what a nut!
posted by jo on 3-22-2010 at 10:33 am
Rachel: hot. +1
Martha: not hot. -1
posted by Brian on 3-22-2010 at 3:18 pm
Say what you will about her, but she has created quite the business for herself. She is obviously a very smart person (though she can’t get away with insider trading). I was always indifferent to her, but she has gotten way cooler since her jail stint. I personally think Martha is great. Not necessarily because of who she is, but what she has created. I doubt she does much with her magazine, but it is a great magazine, with great recipes, ideas and articles about famers, gardners, restuarant owners, just about anyone who does something useful and creative. Even if she doesn’t do half of what her empire consists of, she puts out an incredible product.
posted by LK on 6-26-2010 at 5:32 pm
Actually, the stables seem well-lit, and honestly … I know few horsepeople that turn their horses out during the heat of the day. Not only does it cause coat fade, but that’s also when flies etc are at their worst. Plus, it’s uncomfortable for the animal ! They have higher body temps than humans, and for a large, heavier horse with a dark coat (like a Fresian) summer sun can be miserable.
posted by JP on 11-12-2010 at 8:31 pm