Mary Kay Ash

Mary Kay Ash was born Mary Kathlyn Wagner on May 12, 1918, in Hot Wells, Harris County, Texas. Her father was Edward Alexander Wagner, and her mother, Lula Vember Hastings Wagner, worked as a nurse before managing a restaurant in Houston. Ash attended Dow Elementary School and graduated from Reagan High School in Houston in 1934. At age 17, she married Ben Rogers, and they had three children: Ben Jr., Marilyn Reed, and Richard Rogers. While her husband served in World War II, Ash sold books door-to-door. After he returned in 1945, the couple divorced. She later married Charles Weaver, whose sister, Mary C. Crowley, founded Home Interiors and Gifts.

Ash began working for Stanley Home Products in 1939. Frustrated after being passed over for a promotion in favor of a man she had trained, she retired in 1963. She planned to write a book to help women in business, but that idea turned into a business plan for her ideal company. That summer, Ash and her new husband, George Hallenbeck, planned to start Mary Kay Cosmetics. George died of a heart attack later that year, when Ash was 45. One month after his death, she launched the company with a $5,000 investment from her oldest son, Ben Rogers Jr. Her son Richard took George’s place in the business. The company opened its first storefront, “Beauty by Mary Kay,” in Dallas—a 500-square-foot space with nine saleswomen. Ash used the same “house party” model as Stanley and Tupperware: a representative would invite friends for free facials and then sell products. Profits grew with double-digit increases every year.

According to writer Mary Lisa Gavenas, Ash was a highly visible and active role model who presented herself as feminine, God-fearing, hard-working, and impeccably groomed. She was dedicated to helping other women succeed and referred to her saleswomen as her “daughters.” Unlike Avon, Mary Kay gave its saleswomen higher profit per unit: a Mary Kay lipstick cost about twice as much as an Avon lipstick, yielding twice the profit, while the home-party format allowed representatives to reach several customers at once. Ash made the company intentionally inclusive, which helped it expand rapidly into Australia, South America, Europe, and Asia.

Ash received many honors, including the Horatio Alger Award. In 1980, she was given the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement. She was inducted into the Junior Achievement U.S. Business Hall of Fame in 1996. A longtime fundraiser for charities, she founded the Mary Kay Ash Charitable Foundation in 1996 to support efforts against domestic violence and cancers affecting women. She served as chairman of Mary Kay Cosmetics until 1987, when she became Chairman Emeritus. Fortune magazine listed Mary Kay Inc. among “The 100 best companies to work for in America,” and it was named one of the best ten companies for women to work. Her final lifetime honors included the “Equal Justice Award” from Legal Services of North Texas in 2001 and “Most Outstanding Woman in Business in the 20th Century” from Lifetime Television in 1999.

Ash and her partners, including her son Richard, took the company public in 1968. In 1985, the board decided to make Mary Kay Cosmetics private again. Ash remained active in the company until she suffered a stroke in 1996. Richard Rogers was named CEO in 2001. At the time of Ash’s death, Mary Kay Cosmetics had over 800,000 representatives in 37 countries and total annual sales exceeding $200 million.

Ash wrote several books. Her first, *Mary Kay on People Management*, was published in 1984 and made the *New York Times* Best Seller list. She also published an autobiography, *Mary Kay*, in 1994, and *Miracles Happen* and *You Can Have It All* in 1995.

Mary Kay Ash died on November 22, 2001, and is buried in Sparkman-Hillcrest Memorial Park Cemetery in Dallas, Texas.