WOMEN+POWER 2023: Martha Stewart

It’s not even noon in midtown Manhattan, and Martha Stewart has already put in a full day of work.

After traveling from her Bedford, N.Y., farmhouse into the city for a very early appearance on “Squawk Box,” the indefatigable icon is posing for a cover at PMC Studios. When the video portion of the shoot gets going, Stewart, styled in a striking green Kiton outfit and Skechers slip-on sneakers from her own collection, lets loose. 

Playful and poised, the TV veteran is clearly in her element on this bright mid-May morning. Right on cue, during a segment centered around being the ultimate boss, Stewart takes a sip of green juice — part of her meticulous daily routine.  

“A boss never orders decaf,” she says, in that melodious voice that helped make her a household name. “I always start my day with green juice. It gives me energy, good skin and great hair! Mmm.”

It’s just one of the many life lessons, big and small, that the pioneer imparts during a wide-ranging interview that explores topics from her mother’s enduring influence and sage advice for women founders to the “genius” meringue cake from Cipriani and her favorite Instagram follow, a Chinese cooking account.

Millions of fans have been hanging on Stewart’s recommendations since 1982, when she shot to fame with her first how-to book, “Entertaining.” 

Four decades later, Stewart went viral again last month when she posed seductively in a one-piece white swimsuit for Sports Illustrated — making her the oldest model ever to cover the swimsuit edition. 

It was a much-buzzed-about moment that once again thrust Stewart, a master of reinvention, into the center of the cultural conversation.

“I’m telling women to live the best life they can possibly live. Don’t think about aging, think about living as long as you can. Take the word aging out of it. You’re getting older the minute you’re born,” she said.

The image maker understands that her ability to continually evolve is one of her most powerful attributes. “I was brought up to do what I want to do when I want to do it as well as I can do it,” said the founder of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia. “Something I always say is to be curious and keep learning something new every day.”

An expert teacher, Stewart has always taken great pride in showing women how to cook, garden, entertain, organize, renovate their homes and plan their weddings. Now she wants to give them the courage to raise their voices at a critical time in the United States — when abortion rights and other freedoms are under assault.  

“We have to step it up. Women are afraid. They lived through the pandemic. They’ve lived through the #MeToo movement, which made a lot of them uncomfortable. But it also empowered women to speak out,” she said, citing E. Jean Carroll’s recent victory in her sexual abuse and defamation lawsuit against a former president. 

Perseverance and persistence have defined Stewart’s own journey from a teenage model to an octogenarian mogul who is still as fiercely ambitious as she was when she started a catering business out of her kitchen in 1973.

In the past year alone, the prolific entrepreneur debuted “The World of Martha,” an immersive retail experience on Amazon Stores; launched an engaging podcast; joined forces with Roku for three new TV shows; expanded her CBD business with wellness topicals; struck a major deal with Skechers; opened a restaurant in Las Vegas; and released “Martha’s Lighter Chard,” her second wine collaboration with 19 Crimes.

“I haven’t stopped at all. You should see my calendar. It’s horrific,” she quipped.