Martha Stewart - Early Life

Early Life

Martha Stewart was born in Jersey City, New Jersey. She is the second of six children born to middle-class Polish Americans Edward "Eddie" Kostyra (1912–1979) and Martha Ruszkowski Kostyra (1914–2007). When Stewart was three years old, the family moved to Nutley. She adopted the name "Grace" for her confirmation name.

When Stewart was ten years old, she worked as the occasional babysitter for the children of Mickey Mantle, Yogi Berra, and Gil McDougald, all athletes for New York Yankees. Micky and Merlyn Mantle had four sons, who Stewart watched and organized birthday parties for. She also began modeling. At the age of fifteen, Stewart was featured in a television commercial for Unilever.

Stewart's mother taught her how to cook and sew. Later, she learned the processes of canning and preserving when she visited her grandparents' home in Buffalo, New York. Her father had a passion for gardening and passed on much of his knowledge and expertise to his daughter. Stewart was also active in many extracurricular activities, such as the school newspaper and the Art Club. During this time, Stewart began a modeling career. She appeared in several television commercials and magazines, including one of Tareyton's famous "Smokers would rather fight than switch!" cigarette advertisements.

Stewart graduated from Nutley High School. She originally planned to attend Barnard College with a major in chemistry. She switched to art, European History, and later architectural history. During this time, she met Andrew Stewart, who finished his law degree at Yale Law School. They married in 1961. She returned to Barnard a year after their marriage to graduate with a double major in History and Architectural History.