Martha Stewart (née Kostyra; August 3, 1941) is an American business magnate, author, magazine publisher, and television personality. As founder of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, she has gained success through a variety of business ventures, encompassing publishing, broadcasting, and merchandising. Her syndicated talk show, Martha, is broadcast throughout the world, she has written numerous bestselling books, and she is the publisher of Martha Stewart Living magazine.

In 2004, she was convicted of lying to investigators about a stock sale and served five months in a West Virginia federal prison. Although the media widely speculated that the situation would effectively be the end of her media empire, Stewart began a comeback campaign in 2005, with her company returning to profitability the following year.