Stewart started her modeling career as a way to help her family financially, which eventually blossomed into commercial success, appearing in a number of advertising campaigns, from the likes of “Breck” and “Clairol” as well as, editorials, and fashion shows.
Despite her early achievements, Stewart noted the experience wasn’t always positive, recalling an instance when she refused to wear a bikini for an audition.
“They asked all the girls to bring bikinis, and after my interview with about 15 guys sitting around a table, they said, ‘Go get into your bikini,’” she said.
“And I said, ‘Does the part require a bikini?’ And the guy said, ‘No, but we have you here, so we might as well look at you.’ And I just walked out of the room.”
Stewart maintained that same attitude throughout her decades long career, but sympathizes with young women who have been through similar situations and hopes that standards have evolved over time.
“I was maybe 17 [years old] at the time, but I just wouldn’t put up with that crap. That’s the way I’ve been all along, I just wouldn’t put up with it,” she added.
“When you see that other girls put up with it because they need the money or they need the job, it’s a difficult situation. I think that might be getting better after all these years.”
In response, Anderson weighed in from her perspective as a model and actress herself, rising to fame at a young age as the February 1990 Playboy Playmate of the Month.
“It’s hard to navigate a business that is based on physical beauty and also naïveté. You’re in this business and you want to please people and you have a gut feeling that maybe it’s not the right thing to do, and you can get yourself in these dangerous situations,” said Anderson, 57.
“I was such a shy young girl, if you can believe it—I wanted to do anything to stop being shy. When the Playboy cover [opportunity] came up, my mom said, ‘Do it.’ I didn’t know what it was going to lead to, but then it led to this wild and crazy life,” she continued.
Career Changes
In the 1960s, Stewart studied history at Barnard College in New York City, and went on to work as an institutional stockbroker on Wall Street, before marrying Andrew Stewart and becoming a mother.She went on to study international cuisines where her love for cooking grew and started her own catering company, where the recipes used inspired her first 1982 cookbook “Entertaining,” and future ones alike.
She has since released 100 cookbooks over the course of 40 years, became the publisher of “Martha Stewart Living” magazine, and hosted two syndicated television programs.
