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Jean Nidetch circa 1965

Jean Nidetch, Diet Queen

Tara Metal

Every woman in my family has been on a diet for as long as I can remember. Some of my earliest memories are of family parties: everyone surrounded by lovingly prepared dishes, saying “oh god, I shouldn’t eat this” and “I’m not eating carbs right now” as they piled their plates with lasagna and bread. That was the deal: diets weren’t really adhered to, but they were talked about incessantly.

Topics: Entrepreneurs, Food

Lillian Vernon

In 1987, Lillian Vernon took her mail-order company public, making it the first company founded by a woman and traded on the New York Stock Exchange.

Frieda Caplan

Frieda Caplan’s specialty food company has helped introduce a wide variety of fruits and vegetables to American palates, from kiwis and Asian pears to spaghetti squash and habanero chilies.

Fanny Brooks

Rather than try her fortune directly through prospecting, Fanny Brooks followed the Gold Rush as a teenager and opened a successful general store and boarding house, creating the infrastructure to support other pioneers.

Ruth Porat

Hailed as the most important woman on Wall Street for her work as CFO of Morgan Stanley, Ruth Porat became Google’s first female CFO in 2015.

Jenette Kahn

Jenette Kahn rebranded National Periodical Publications as DC Comics, reviving the failing company as a proving ground for both experimental titles and reboots of iconic characters like Batman and Superman.

Bobbi Brown

Tired of the 1980s trends towards gaudy, bright lipstick and eye shadow, Bobbi Brown launched her signature makeup line featuring more natural colors.

Martine Rothblatt

CEO Martine Rothblatt’s fascination with interconnectivity led her to found both GeoStar and Sirius Radio, but it was her drive to save her daughter’s life that led her to create biotech company United Therapeutics Corporation.

Diane Von Furstenberg

Designer Diane von Furstenberg made her mark on the fashion world in 1974 with the invention of the wrap dress.

Edith Flagg

Edith Flagg built a multi–million–dollar fashion empire through her innovative use of polyester.

Sheryl Sandberg

Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg sparked debate and controversy over women’s opportunities and hurdles in the workforce with her first book, Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead.

Ida Cohen Rosenthal / Sara Blakely

Undergarment Entrepreneurs

Women Can Do Anything with the Right Support

Julie Heldman

Julie Heldman won 22 professional tennis titles in her stunning career.

Sara Blakely

Sara Blakely’s creation and marketing of Spanx made her the world’s youngest self-made billionaire, a success she has paid forward by training aspiring female entrepreneurs.

Jeanne Greenberg Rohatyn

Jeanne Greenberg Rohatyn has helped shape the art world both directly as curator of three art galleries and indirectly as the host of salons where artists of all stripes have met and begun surprising collaborations.

Ruth Light Braun

Ruth Light Braun captured the lived experience of Jews in New York and Palestine through her artwork in charcoal and conte crayon.

Anna Marks

Anna Rich Marks was born in Russian-occupied Poland in 1847. Raised in poverty and haunted by the constant threat of pogroms, she left Poland and traveled to England where she met and married Wolff Marks in 1862, at age fifteen. The couple ventured to America, eventually settling in Eureka City, a rich mining area sixty miles south of Salt Lake City. Anna Marks made her fortune in real estate. She owned controlling interests in two mines near Eureka and was known to have invested money in diamonds as well. Anna Marks died of a heart attack in Eureka City on April 19, 1912.

Betty Spiegelberg

Levi Spiegelberg followed his brother Solomon to Santa Fe, New Mexico in 1848. Together they formed the partnership of Spiegelberg Brothers, an extremely successful merchant enterprise. Like many pioneer Jewish men, Levi wished to marry within his faith. Those who could afford the expense, often returned to Europe to find a Jewish bride. Betty married Levi in 1848. She arrived in Santa Fe, New Mexico in the early 1860's after taking the railroad to the end of the Missouri and then traveling up the steep Santa Fe Tail by ox train.

Anna F. Solomon

Anna worked side by side with her husband. She ran Solomonville's store and the local hotel, all while raising their six children in a refined and cultured home in the midst of the desert southwest. Anna died in San Diego, California, in her late eighties on May 4, 1933.

Fanny Brooks

Fanny Bruck was born in 1837, in the small village of Schweidnitz, Germany, one of six children. Fanny was well educated and graduated with high honors. She was only 16 years old when she met Julius Brooks, a young man who had been lured to America by stories of the Gold Rush in 1847 and who had returned after five years to visit his family. They married in Breslau, Germany, on August 18th, 1853, and journeyed to America.

Death of Adele Bluthenthal Heiman, Communal Leader in Arkansas

April 3, 1979

Adele Bluthenthal Heiman was the first woman president of the Arkansas Jewish Assembly.

Frances Berman Sulsky

Frances Berman Sulsky, born in New York in 1910, was known for over half a century as Baltimore's leading milliner and trendsetter. She took chances in the retail world of women's fashion that distinguished her both as a merchandiser and a businesswoman.

Minna Shavitz

A fixture at two of Baltimore's best-known and beloved restaurants, Minna Shavitz was influenced by the strong role model of her working mother, who owned and operated a dry goods store in Georgia with her father.

Micky Loveman

Recognized by a noted retailer as the "Number One Shoe Salesperson in America," Micky Loveman spent a lifetime working in Baltimore's retail shoe business, building a loyal client base.

Selma Litman

A devoted mother and wife and an influential saleswoman, Selma Litman was born in 1917. Although her father, one of the few Jews in Russia to have gotten a college education, died when she was just 20 months old, Selma was raised on stories that her mother and siblings regularly shared about him.

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