14 Photos From Martha Stewart's Early Modeling Days

Yes, that’s right; before she ruled our screens as America’s favorite lifestyle guru, Martha Stewart helmed a career in modeling, appearing in TV commercials, editorial spreads, and even campaigns for luxury brands by the likes of Chanel. Having dabbled in modeling since she was 15, Stewart began taking the gig seriously upon enrolling in college at Barnard University, where she majored in Art History and supported herself financially through modeling. 

In the 2013 PBS documentary Makers about the road to women’s equality in the United States, Stewart shed light on her modeling days, stating that she “got enough modeling jobs at $50 an hour—which was a lot of money at that time.” Stewart even did a stint with Chanel one summer while Coco Chanel herself was still pioneering the French fashion house, telling fashion legend André Leon Talley in an episode of The Martha Stewart Show of the Chanel garments she received all those decades ago that she has kept to this day. 

As Stewart’s modeling career drew to a close, she tried her hand as a stockbroker on Wall Street for a few years before launching a catering business with partner Norma Collier in 1976. In the years that followed, Stewart’s accolades grew exponentially, among them being a number of successful food, craft, and home decor book launches, a monthly magazine, an eponymous television show that ran from 2004 through 2012, and an unexpected yet delightful friendship with Snoop Dogg.

Earlier this year, the lifestyle expert made a brief return to modeling as one of the cover models for Sports Illustrated's Swimsuit edition. This also marked her as the oldest model to grace the cover at 81. On her birthday, L’OFFICIEL has rounded up stunning photos from her early modeling days.