Mary Kay Ash
Mary Kay Ash | |
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The University of Houston | |
Occupation | Founder of Mary Kay Cosmetics |
Spouses |
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Children | 3 |
Parent(s) | Edward Alexander Wagner Lula Vember Hastings |
Mary Kay Ash (born Mary Kathlyn Wagner; May 12, 1918, – November 22, 2001) was an American businesswoman and founder of Mary Kay Cosmetics, Inc. At her death, she had a fortune of $98 million, and her company had more than $1.2 billion in sales with a sales force of more than 800,000 in at least three dozen countries.[1]
Early life
Mary Kay Ash, born Mary Kathlyn Wagner in
Ash married Ben Rogers at age 17. They had three children, Ben Jr., Marylin Reed, and Richard Rogers. While her husband served in World War II, she sold books door-to-door. After her husband's return in 1945, they divorced.[6] She later married Charles Weaver, the brother of Mary C. Crowley founder of Home Interiors and Gifts.[7]
Career
Ash went to work for Stanley Home Products in 1939.[8] Frustrated when passed over for a promotion in favor of a man that she had trained, Ash retired in 1963 and intended to write a book to assist women in business. The book turned into a business plan for her ideal company, and in the summer of 1963, Mary Kay Ash and her new husband, George Hallenbeck,[3] planned to start Mary Kay Cosmetics. However, George died of a heart attack that same year.[3] Ash was 45 years old.[4]
One month after George's death, with a $5,000 investment from her oldest son, Ben Rogers, Jr., Ash started Mary Kay Cosmetics. Richard Rogers took George's place in the company. The company started its original storefront operation "Beauty By Mary Kay" in
According to Gavenas:
- Mary Kay was a very visible, very active, and almost ridiculously feminine‐looking role model: a God‐fearing, hard‐working, immaculately groomed mother of three who was doing everything within her power to see other women get ahead, and who loved mentoring so much that she referred to her saleswomen as her “daughters.” Also unlike Avon, Mary Kay made her saleswomen more profit per unit: a Mary Kay lipstick cost roughly double the price of an Avon lipstick and hence made twice the profit, while the home‐party format meant that several customers could be approached at once...Mary Kay made her company purposely inclusive, enabling her rapid expansion into Australia, South America, Europe, and Asia.[9]
Awards
Both during her life and posthumously, Ash received numerous honors from business groups, including the
Mary Kay Cosmetics, Inc.
Ash and her partners, which included her son Richard, took the company public in 1968. Seventeen years later, in 1985, the Mary Kay Cosmetics board decided to make the company private again. Ash remained active in Mary Kay Cosmetics, Inc. until suffering a stroke in 1996. Richard Rogers was named CEO of Mary Kay Cosmetics, Inc. in 2001.[11] At the time of Ash's death, Mary Kay Cosmetics had over 800,000 representatives in 37 countries, with total annual sales of over $200 million.
Books
Ash was the author of several books, including Mary Kay, an autobiography in 1994 and Miracles Happen and You Can Have It All in 1995.[12][13] Her first book, called Mary Kay on People Management, was published in 1984 and was on the New York Times Best Seller List.[14]
Death
Mary Kay Ash died on November 22, 2001.[15] She is interred in the Sparkman-Hillcrest Memorial Park Cemetery in Dallas, Texas.[16]
Notes
- ^ Gavenas, 2008.
- ^ a b Ballard, Moriah (March 5, 2024). "Women's History Month: Founder of Mary Kay Cosmetics was a Houston native whose legacy continues to empower others 💄". KPRC. Retrieved March 12, 2024.
- ^ ISBN 0-313-23748-4
- ^ ISBN 0-06-014878-0
- ^ "Distinguished Archived 2012-05-15 at the Wayback Machine." Houston Independent School District.
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved January 31, 2022.
- ^ Myerson, Allen R. (July 13, 1994). "From At-Home Parties To a $1 Billion Buyout". The New York Times. Retrieved February 6, 2020.
- ^ a b "Mary Kay Ash - Most Outstanding Woman in Business in the 20th Century". Entrepreneurs.about.com. June 14, 2010. Retrieved February 21, 2012.
- ^ a b Gavenas, 2008
- American Academy of Achievement.
- ^ Archives, L. A. Times (June 27, 2001). "Mary Kay Names Founder's Son as CEO". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 30, 2023.
- ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved January 31, 2022.
- ^ "Mary Kay Ash dies at age 83". Napa Valley Register. Retrieved January 31, 2022.
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 18, 2023.
- ^ Nemy, Enid (November 24, 2001). "Mary Kay Ash, Builder of Beauty Empire, Dies at 83". The New York Times.
- ^ Charrier, Emily (September 20, 2016). "Ghosts of Sparkman-Hillcrest: Mickey Mantle, Mary Kay Ash and H.L. Hunt". The Advocate. Retrieved June 18, 2023.
Further reading
- Gavenas, Mary Lisa. "Ash, Mary Kay" American National Biography (20080_ https://doi.org/10.1093/anb/9780198606697.article.1002284
- Gavenas, Mary Lisa. Mary Lisa Gavenas, Color Stories: Behind the Scenes of America's Billion‐Dollar Beauty Industry (2002).
- Gross, Daniel. Forbes Greatest Business Stories of All Time (1996).
- Gheorghe, Ionescu Gh, and Negrusa Adina. "Some aspects about the life of the greatest female entrepreneur in American history, Mary Kay Ash." Annals of the University of Oradea, Economic Science Series 18.1 (2009): 47–57. online
- Ionescu, Gh, And Adina Negrusa. "Mary Kay Ash, The Greatest Female Entrepreneur In American History And Business Ethics." Management & Marketing 4.4 (2009). online
- Stefoff, Rebecca (1992) Mary Kay Ash: Mary Kay, a Beautiful Business Garrett Educational Corp., Ada, Okla., ISBN 1-56074-012-4
- Rozakis, Laurie (1993) Mary Kay: Cosmetics Queen Rourke Enterprises, Vero Beach, Fla., ISBN 0-86592-040-0
- Waggoner, Catherine Egley. "The emancipatory potential of feminine masquerade in Mary Kay cosmetics." Text and Performance Quarterly 17.3 (1997): 256–272.
Primary sources
- Ash, Mary Kay (1984) Mary Kay on people management New York, NY, Warner Books, Inc.
- Ash, Mary Kay (1994) Miracles Happen: Mary Kay Ash The Life and Timeless Principles of the Founder of Mary Kay Inc. Harper Collins Publishers, New York,ISBN 0-06-092601-5; autobiography