30 Things You Didn’t Know About Martha Stewart

1. She made her billions overnight

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Stewart loves to remind everyone that she was the first self-made female billionaire in North America.  And who wouldn't like to boast a little?!  Her company, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, went public in 1999 and immediately tripled in value on the first day!  And despite losing her billionaire status, she is still known worldwide as the "Queen of Domestic Arts".

2. Sleep doesn't matter to her

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Martha has achieved such an enormous amount of success that it seems she has lived a dozen lifetimes.  And, clearly, she hasn't done all of it by sleeping.  In fact, Stewart has admitted that she only needs four hours of sleep per night, rising at 5 a.m. to walk her beloved dogs and breathe in the morning air before she gets on with her day.

3. Model behavior

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Before she became the legendary lifestyle guru she is today, Martha spent much of her college days working as a model, appearing in fashion shows, and print and TV campaigns.  In fact, when she wasn't hitting the books, she found time to model so she could save up and pay her way through college.

4. She babysat for legendary baseball stars

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Martha has always had an impressive business brain, and it seems that she is incredibly adept at burning the candle at both ends.  You see, even as a 10-year-old school kid, she spent her free time babysitting for some legendary baseball stars, like Mickey Mantle and Yogi Berra.  And to this day, she remains a die-hard Yankees fan!

5. She has done her time

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Yep - Martha is an ex-con.  In 2004, Martha was charged with a number of damaging financial crimes that saw her incarcerated for a whole five months in federal prison!  She also served another five months under house arrest. And you'd think it'd be pretty easy for her to remain under house arrest instructions, living on such a grand and palatial estate, right?  Wrong!

6. Her prison nickname was M. Diddy

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It is thought that Alderton Federal Prison Camp was her very last choice of prison, and despite describing lockdown as "hideous", Martha seemed to fit in quite well.  So well, in fact, that she earned the nickname M. Diddy and was able to use her status to act as a "go-between", helping the inmates and authorities to communicate effectively.

7. She dumped Anthony Hopkins

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She once dated one of the UK's finest-ever actors, Sir Anthony Hopkins.  Known for his amazing and terrifying portrayal of Hannibal Lecter, he made history in the 1991 Oscar-winning movie, The Silence of the Lambs. 

But, despite the initial attraction, Martha couldn't get the cannibalistic character out of her nightmares, and thus, the couple was no longer.

8. Her BFF is Snoop Dogg

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Despite the 30-year age difference, Martha and Snoop Dogg's wonderful friendship has been a huge surprise since they became besties over a decade ago.  Their connection blossomed after they met on her old TV show, The Martha Stewart Show.  In fact, their bond is now so strong that Snoop has even introduced Martha to his mother!  So wholesome.

9. And they had their own line of lighters

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Fans of Martha and Snoop will probably be aware of their hit variety show, Martha and Snoop's Potluck Party Challenge

.  What you might not be aware of, though, is their ad campaign for BIC EZ Reach Lighters, featuring the pair in hilarious TV and print adverts.  They really are comedy genius!

10. Julia Child taught her how to cook

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As we know, Martha Stewart is a real foodie and domestic goddess who loves to cook.  Her Instagram feed demonstrates her absolute passion and skills in haute cuisine. 

She once claimed to cook every single recipe in Julia Child's "Mastering the Art of French Cooking"

and attributes everything she knows about food to the beloved American icon.

11. To her, Liverwurst is life

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It's always super comforting to know that big celebs like Stewart are, in fact, just like us... Except for when it comes to their strange food habits!  Yes, Stewart once admitted that she loves to snack on liverwurst by literally squeezing the entire tube straight into her mouth.  Mmm... Delicious!

12. She made it onto People Magazine's 50 Most Beautiful People list

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Back in 2005, People Magazine unveiled that year's, most-gawked-at, annual 50 Most Beautiful People list, and, you guessed it, Martha made the cut!  She was also joined that year by Brad Pitt, Julia Roberts, Seal, Halle Berry, Drew Barrymore, and 45 more deemed beautiful enough to make it on.

13. When it comes to furry or feathered things, Martha is a bonafide animal lover

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There have been so many animals in Martha's life that she has even lost count of how many she has given a home to over the years.  However, she does recall having had at least 20 cats, more than 20 dogs, chinchillas, canaries, peacocks, donkeys, ponies, cows, parakeets, sheep, and hundreds of chickens, turkeys, and guinea fowl.  Where did

she put them all?

14. The deaths of her 6 peacocks really hit her hard

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In 2021, a desperate and devastated Stewart took to social media to ask her followers for some needed advice: How to scare off a pack of coyotes!  The ravenous coyotes entered her yard in broad daylight, carried off her beloved and majestic 'Whiteboy' and five others, and devoured them, leaving her only a few feathers to remember them by.

15. She has huge beef with black rubber shoe soles

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Martha once banned her staff from wearing any shoes with black rubber soles.  And no, it wasn't to do with fashion, but because it completely irked her to see her sparkling corridor floors decorated with mucky black streaks.  Pretty trivial, right?  At least we can giggle about her typo in the email that stated the shoes leave "steaks" on the floor.  That would bug me too, Martha!

16. She once had her pick of 8 houses

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Where will Martha sleep tonight?  Well, that's up to Martha!  And it is no surprise that she has exquisite taste when it comes to picking the perfect place to rest her head.  She has called so many wondrous places home over the decades and at one point, she even owned eight whole houses!

17. She is incapable of sleeping past 7 a.m.

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In fact, as well as only needing four hours of sleep a night, Martha seems to have a neverending source of energy as she doesn't rest much during the day either!  If she really really has to, she might have a little catnap, but she even puts these to good use!  She once said that she thinks up big ideas while snoozing!  Rest: who needs it?

18. Her college majors are really quite surprising

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With her business brains and domestic prowess, it might surprise you to learn that Martha actually got her bachelor's degree in History and Architectural History from Barnard College.  In fact, as a straight-A student all through school, she earned a scholarship at the college and originally intended to study Chemistry!

19. She worked on Wall Street

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After her sophomore year at college, she married a law student called Andrew Stewart.  And then after graduating, Martha followed in her father-in-law's footsteps and, alongside modeling, started a second career on Wall Street as a Stockbroker.  This was her first real taste of the business world where she gained her initial training.

20. She bagged a partnership with one of the largest marijuana manufacturers in North America

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In 2019, Martha joined one of North America's biggest marijuana manufacturers, Canopy, as an advisor after being introduced to the company by her good pal, Snoop Dogg.  Shocked that more people aren't using it, she has since incorporated cannabidiol into her wellness routine and now has her own range of CBD products for humans and, you guessed it, our furry friends!

21. She is a real "Jill of all Trades"

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A woman of many talents and a head bursting with big ideas, Martha is a really multifaceted human being.  Her interest in, well... pretty much everything stems from a young age with her mother who was a homemaker, and educator, teaching her how to cook and sew, while she learned to take care of the garden by helping her father, a pharmaceutical salesman, outside.

22. She's one of six siblings

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Martha was born Martha Kostraya in New Jersey and it might be surprising to learn that she entered this world in the summer of 1941.  Yes, that means she is over 80 years old!  Martha is the second child of six children.  Now that is a lot of sibling rivalry!

23. Martha set up her first company in her kitchen

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Martha built her own empire from scratch.  She was born to hard-working parents who were very keen do-it-yourselfers.  This has been a major influence on her during her life, from babysitting at 10 years old to modeling through college and adulthood was no different.  After leaving Wall Street, Martha set up her first catering company from her kitchen!

24. She completely stole the show in Comedy Central's Roast

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With her strong wit, we could argue that Stewart really made TV history in Comedy Central's Roast of Justin Beiber.  She got him so good with some absolutely hilarious burns surrounding "his inevitable prison sentence".  Being the expert herself, she had some sound advice!

25. She is a big fan of Eminem

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At the Superbowl in 2022, Snoop really earned his BFF points with Martha when he stopped at nothing to get her an audience with the Detroit Rapper.  Martha has said that she has long been an admirer of Marshall Mathers and had wanted to meet him for some time.  Well, ever since he refused to meet her on her show.  Awkward!

26. She flew on a plane with 8 trees

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We might be all too familiar with sitting near an irritating stranger on a plane: their noise; their smells; their elbows!  Well, what about sitting next to a tree?  Yep, on a private jet trip to Oklahoma, Martha cozied up for her journey with eight Cercis Canadensis which is the state tree of Oklahoma!

27. In prison, she made jam

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You can take the Martha out of the home, but not the home out of the Martha!  And it's true... Martha was so offended by the prison food that she refused to eat it.  Instead of starving, she collected crab apples from the trees surrounding the prison and made yummy jam.  Her lucky cellmates...

28. Pumpkin spice is a no-no!

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Summer ends and, all of a sudden, it's pumpkin spice season!  And it's everywhere you go.  It has thrived in love, and it has thrived in hate, and Martha Stewart thinks it's basic

.  That's settled it then - if Martha thinks so, it's time to put an end to the pumpkin spice frenzy that befalls us every Fall!

29. Her skincare routine shaves decades off

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Come on, Martha, what is your secret?  A question that is on the lips, or the fingertips, of many of Martha's 1.7 million Instagram followers.  And the response was: "unfiltered, no facelift"

.  But, many in disbelief are pleading with her to own up about how she achieves such a smooth complexion at 81 years old!

30. Haters gonna hate, Martha's gonna stay great!

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Whatever you do, don't troll Martha, it will end in (your) tears!  Martha is never too busy for a good comeback and, to be completely honest, she has been known to put out the bait on her socials so she can reel the trolls in and watch them squirm as she responds with a witty, often quite deadpan, and hilarious reply.  Keep doing you, Martha!