Raised in Nutley, New Jersey

Began modeling in order to pay for school; appeared in various television and print ads

Worked on Wallstreet as a stockbroker after graduating college; left around 1972 due to the recession

Settled in Connecticut with family

Formed the catering company "Uncatered Affair," with friend Norma Collier; catered parties and taught cooking classes

Became a food editor and columnist for House Beautiful magazine

Published her first book, Entertaining, a coffee-table book which sold over 500,000 copies

Began appearing on television, first with Willard Scott on The "Today” Show

Began airing “Holiday Entertaining With Martha Stewart" (PBS), a TV special in which she offered advice on food preparation, home decorations and seating arrangements

Signed a deal with Kmart to be their lifestyle consultant, through which she was able to promote her line of bed and bath products

Started her own magazine Martha Stewart’s Living, which attained a circulation of 1.3 million

Started her own weekly syndicated series, "Martha Stewart Living"; expanded to a daily half-hour show in 1997, then to an hour-long format in 1999; has received a total of 29 Emmy nominations since its debut

The Securities and Exchange Commission filed charges against Stewart when she allegedly dumped stock in the biopharmaceutical company, ImClone Systems, after an unlawful tip from broker Peter Bacanovic; the insider trading charges were later dismissed, but she faced charges of obstructing justice and lying to investigators; convicted on all four counts and sentenced to five months in a minimum security prison and five months of house arrest

Hosted "The Apprentice: Martha Stewart," a reality series co-produced with Mark Burnett, a spin-off of the successful Donald Trump series

Hosted "Martha," a syndicated spin-off of "Martha Stewart Living," where she would give her home decoration and catering advice to a live audience

Launched a 24-hour satellite radio network with Sirius, on which Stewart hosts a weekly call-in show

Made a special appearance on "Ugly Betty" (ABC), in which she gave her friend Wilhelmina Slater (Vanessa Williams) tips on how to prepare a turkey

Bought the rights to the Emeril Lagasse franchise of cookbooks, television shows and kitchen products for $50 million