Born in 1918, Mary Kay spent her teenage years living with just her mother and sister, which gave her a deep appreciation of how strong and capable women are. Nothing pleased her more than seeing women find a place where they could truly thrive and flourish.

She sold encyclopedias door-to-door to support herself and her three young children while her first husband was serving in the war. When he returned home, he left her for another woman.

She went on to work in several other sales roles but experienced first-hand the “glass ceiling” that prevented many women from reaching top positions.

After deciding to take early retirement, she set out to write a book to help other women avoid the pitfalls she had faced in the male-dominated corporate world. In it, she outlined the qualities she believed would define an ideal business—a “dream company” for working mothers, where they could determine their own levels of advancement and compensation, be their own bosses, and set work schedules that still allowed time for their children. Other key criteria included:

1. Treating everyone equally
2. Basing promotions on merit
3. Choosing products based on their sales performance and marketability rather than profitability

She kept her focus on what a direct-sales company could be and thought, “Why am I theorizing about a dream company? Why don’t I just start one?”

So, in 1963, at the age of 45, she did just that. However, just days before the launch, she suffered another heartbreak when her second husband died unexpectedly. Despite this, she remained determined and refused to be thwarted. More than fifty years later, her business continues to inspire millions. Her legacy lives on in the company she built, and her mission of empowering women is as important now as ever.

One of her key principles was always to lift others up along the way. When asked if there was ever a point at which you could give too much recognition, her answer was, “Never.”

Even towards the end of her life, she made a point of personally calling and congratulating every individual who achieved a rank promotion from the middle of the compensation plan upwards.

When she was young, her mother often told her, “You can do it!”—a message she went on to share with millions of women. She famously said, “Pretend that every single person you meet has a sign around his or her neck that says, ‘Make Me Feel Important.’ Not only will you succeed in business, you will succeed in life.” With these simple yet powerful words, she built a community of women who found confidence through encouragement and grew it into a global empire.

In 1985, she was named one of America’s 25 Most Influential Women. In 1999, she was voted Texas Woman of the Century, and in 2000, Lifetime Television hailed her as the most outstanding woman in business of the 20th century. A museum has also been established to preserve and honour her journey and legacy.

In 1996, she founded an organisation to provide funding for cancer research and to help prevent domestic violence. Through this initiative, her company has contributed more than $75 million.

The business she started with just $5,000 is still going strong today and operates in around 40 countries. Over its history, it has generated tens of billions in sales, including approximately $3.5 billion in 2019 alone.

She sadly passed away in 2001, but this inductee into the Direct Selling Hall of Fame—the founder of Mary Kay Cosmetics, Mary Kay Ash—is unquestionably worthy of the accolade.