American retail businesswoman, best-selling author, and television personality, Martha Helen Stewart has been a household name for more than four decades. She is known by many as the founder of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia. As a writer, she has written different bestselling books and is the publisher of Martha Stewart Living magazine. She was the host of Martha Stewart Living and The Martha Stewart Show.
How Many Siblings Does Martha Stewart Have?
Martha Stewart was born Martha Helen Kostyra, on August 3, 1941, in Jersey City, New Jersey, U.S. to Edward Kostyra (1912–1979) and Martha (née Ruszkowski; 1914–2007), both teachers but her father later became a pharmaceutical salesman. Martha is the second of six children which means she has five siblings.
Martha Stewart’s siblings are Laura Plimpton, Eric Scott, Frank Kostyra, George Christiansen, and Kathryn Evans. Most of her siblings have stayed away from the spotlight so much is unknown about them. Martha has revealed that she is much closer to her younger siblings and her older siblings are not much fun to be with.
Martha’s Estranged Relationship With Her Brother
Martha Stewart and her brother Frank Kostyra have been estranged from each other. The siblings have not spoken to each other for years. Frank said during an interview that the reason he and his sister have not spoken for years is that: ‘It was just a disagreement and I have to honor that. It’s something that came between us. And that’s just families do that every now and then.’
ALSO READ: Frank Kostyra: Where Is Martha Stewart’s Brother Now?
Frank Kostyra later had to admit that, the root cause of his separation from his sister is because of a rumor that he’d sold a story on his sister to the press, something he denied. Also, Frank told the New York Post that: “Martha and I have always had a lot of sibling rivalry – I remember us lying on the floor biting and scratching as kids, trying to get each other to say, ‘Uncle,’ but she would never give in.” However, it is unknown if the siblings have reconciled or not.
Martha Has Lost Some Of Her Siblings
Martha Stewart’s siblings Laura Plimpton and George Christiansen are no longer alive. Her sister Laura Plimpton who worked side-by-side with Martha for over 25 years died on 5 August 2014, in Norwalk, Fairfield County, Connecticut, USA, at age 59, after an unexpected brain aneurysm. Laura worked at Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia.
Martha Stewart shared on her blog: “My youngest sister, and the youngest of the six Kostyra siblings, Laura Kostyra Plimpton, passed away today in Norwalk Hospital. Laura worked for me and the company for more than 25 years. For the past several years Laura edited, researched, and often wrote, captioned, and photographed content for this blog and The Daily Wag.”
“She was born on March 4, 1955. Our mother wanted to name her Dorothy, but we persuaded her to name her Laura instead. We still don’t know why we didn’t like the name Dorothy, But Laura was beloved by all as Laura. She woke up Monday morning at 5:00 A.M. to do her daily one hour of elliptical and weight training. She made coffee for her husband Randy and they completed the New York Times crossword puzzle together.”
Martha continued: “Then she took a shower and suddenly felt ill and called for Randy’s help. She was rushed to the hospital where they said she had suffered a massive brain aneurysm. Laura left a living will so she was kept on life support until today so her three children could say their goodbyes, and the testing could be completed for organ donation.”
“We are so sad but also happy that Laura had the foresight to donate so many healthy organs to needy people. Please keep her husband Randy and her three children, Christopher Herbert, Sophie Herbert Slater, and Charlie Plimpton, and two sons-in-law Timothy Long and Dan Slater, in your thoughts. Laura deserves the very best; she was an extraordinary mother, wife, and sister.”
Also, Martha Stewart’s brother George Christiansen died on March 13, 2017. According to Page Six, he was a contractor and he died at home of a suspected heart attack after feeling unwell. Martha’s longtime spokeswoman Susan Magrino told Page Six, “Martha lost her youngest brother, George, suddenly and unexpectedly earlier this [past] week. The family requests that you respect their privacy during this time of sorrow.”
ALSO READ: Laura Plimpton: What Happened To Martha Stewart’s Sister?
George and Martha Stewart were close to each other. George’s wife, Rita reportedly worked in Martha’s office and even George’s company, Pequot Remodeling, worked with Martha on remodeling her former home, called Turkey Hill. In the book “Being Martha: The Inside Story of Martha Stewart and her Amazing Life,” George said of their childhood:
“It was all about going and finding a piece of land and living off of it, learning how to get back to nature. Listening to banjos, listening to folk music, discovering Leadbelly and the Mamas and the Papas. We used to have the greatest evenings with a bunch of hospitable people. Martha would make pies and other things for the occasions.”
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