Mary Kay Ash, born Mary Kathlyn Wagner in Hot Wells, Harris County, Texas, was the daughter of Edward Alexander and Lula Vember Hastings Wagner. She attended Reagan High School in Houston, and graduated in 1934.
Ash married Ben Rogers at age 17. They had three children. While her
husband served in World War II, she sold books door-to-door. After her
husband's return in 1945, they divorced. Ash went to work for Stanley
Home Products.
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 Arthur Hallenbeck, began Mary Kay Cosmetics with a $5,000 investment. Before the company could open its original storefront operation in Dallas, her second husband died, and her son, Richard Rogers, took his place. The store opened in 1963, but grew rapidly, particularly after Ash was interviewed for CBS's 60 Minutes in 1979.
Ash was widely respected. She considered the Golden Rule
the founding principle of Mary Kay Cosmetics and the company's
marketing plan was designed to allow women to advance by helping others
to succeed. She advocated "praising people to success" and her slogan
"God first, family second, career third" expressed her insistence that
the women in her company keep their lives in balance.
Mary Kay Ash authored three books, all of which became best-sellers. Her autobiography, Mary Kay, has sold more than a million copies and appears in several languages. Mary Kay Ash's third book, You Can Have It All, was launched in August 1995 and achieved "best-seller" status within days of its introduction.
She died on November 22, 2001. Mary Kay Ash is interred in the Sparkman-Hillcrest Memorial Park Cemetery in Dallas, Texas.
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Kay_Ash
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