Ash, Mary Kay (1918–2001)

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Ash, Mary Kay (1918–2001)

American entrepreneur. Born Mary Kathlyn Wagner, May 12, 1918, in Hot Wells, Texas; died Nov 22, 2001, in Dallas, Texas; m. Ben Rogers (Houston radio personality, div.); m. Mel Ash (sales representative), 1966 (died 1980); children: 3, including Marilyn Theard (died 1991) and Richard Rogers (co-founder, chair and CEO of Mary Kay Inc.).

Founder & CEO of Mary Kay cosmetics; known as the high priestess of pink, was one of the most famous women in American business; served as national sales director for World Gifts (1949–63); intent on empowering herself and other women, bought a formulation for a skin-care cream and founded Mary Kay Cosmetics (1963), with a sales force of 11 that grew to more than 750,000, mostly women, in 37 countries; retired as its chair (1987); wrote the bestsellers Mary Kay on People Management (1984) and Mary Kay—You Can Have It All (1995).

See also autobiography Mary Kay (1981).