Mary Kay Ash (May 12, 1918 – November 22, 2001) was an American businesswoman and founder of Mary Kay Cosmetics, Inc.
She was born Mary Kathlyn Wagner in Hot Wells, Harris County, Texas, the daughter of Edward Alexander and Lula Vember Hastings Wagner. She attended Reagan High School in Houston, graduating in 1934.
Ash attended the University of Houston until 1943 when she married, but despite having three children, the marriage did not last, and...
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Mary Kay Ash (May 12, 1918 – November 22, 2001) was an American businesswoman and founder of Mary Kay Cosmetics, Inc.
She was born Mary Kathlyn Wagner in Hot Wells, Harris County, Texas, the daughter of Edward Alexander and Lula Vember Hastings Wagner. She attended Reagan High School in Houston, graduating in 1934.
Ash attended the University of Houston until 1943 when she married, but despite having three children, the marriage did not last, and after her divorce Ash went to work for Stanley Home Products, a direct sales firm out of Houston. In 1952, Ash left Stanley and was hired as the national training director for a Dallas direct-sales firm, World Gift Co., where she worked until 1963. 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 September 1963, Mary Kay Ash and her second husband began Mary Kay...
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