With a desire to enrich women’s lives and a keen sense of business, Mary Kay Ash developed her dream company and set the example for others to follow. See the milestones that made Mary Kay a household name and made Mary Kay a global skin care and color products brand.

  • 1960
  • 1970
  • 1980
  • 1990
  • 2000
  • 2010

1960s

1963

Beauty by Mary Kay opens on Friday, Sept. 13, in a 500-square-foot storefront in Dallas, Texas.

1964

Mary Kay introduces a complete line of skin care products exclusively for men.

Mary Kay holds its first company convention known as Seminar. Today, Seminar is one of the largest annual conventions in Dallas, Texas.

1969

Mary Kay Ash awards the use of the first pink Cadillac to the top five independent Sales Directors.

Construction begins on the Mary Kay manufacturing facility in Dallas.

Beauty by Mary Kay opens on Friday, Sept. 13, 1963 in a 500-square foot storefront in Dallas, Texas.

1970s

1971

Mary Kay expands by opening its first international subsidiary in Australia.

1973

Mary Kay celebrates its 10th anniversary, and the Mary Kay independent sales force exceeds 20,000.

1976

Mary Kay is listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

1979

One of the original nine Mary Kay Independent Beauty Consultants surpasses the $1 million mark in lifetime commissions for the first time in company history.

Mary Kay MK Milestones 1970s

1980s

1983

Mary Kay celebrates 20 years, and the company’s wholesale sales exceed $300 million (USD).

1984

Mary Kay Inc. is featured in the first edition of Fortune magazine’s “The 100 Best Companies to Work for in America”.

1985

Mary Kay Inc. returns to private, family ownership in a leveraged buyout.

1988

Mary Kay opens in Mexico.

1989

Mary Kay Inc. initiates a corporate recycling program for paper, plastic, glass and aluminum.

Mary Kay celebrates 20 years, and the company’s wholesale sales exceed $300 million (USD).

1990s

1990

The global expansion of Mary Kay now includes 10 countries.

1991

Consolidated global wholesale sales reach $500 million (USD).

1993

Mary Kay Inc. celebrates its 30th anniversary and opens The Mary Kay Museum at the company’s world headquarters in Dallas, Texas.

Mary Kay Inc. is listed as a Fortune 500 company for 1992.

Mary Kay opens in Russia.

Mary Kay Inc. is again listed in Fortune magazine’s “The 100 Best Companies to Work for in America”.

1995

Fortune magazine lists Mary Kay Inc. among "the Most Admired Corporations in America".

1996

The Mary Kay Ash Charitable Foundation is established. The Foundation, now known as The Mary Kay FoundationSM, is a nonprofit public foundation dedicated to providing funding for research of cancers affecting women and funding for preventing violence against women through awareness programs and grants to women’s shelters across the nation.

Mary Kay Inc. is one of 20 companies featured in the book, Forbes Greatest Business Stories of All Time, and Mary Kay Ash is the only woman profiled in the book.

Consolidated global wholesale sales surpass $1 billion (USD) for the first time in company history.

1998

Mary Kay Inc. is included in “The 100 Best Companies to Work for in America” published by Fortune magazine.

Mary Kay Inc. celebrates its 35th anniversary. The company changes the color on the coveted pink Cadillac to a pearlized pink.

1999

Mary Kay Ash is recognized as a Texas Woman of the Century.

1993: Mary Kay is listed in Forbes magazine as one of the top 100 countries to work for in the US.

2000s

2000

Lifetime Television names Mary Kay Ash the most outstanding woman in business in the 20th century.

2001

Mary Kay Inc. is awarded the Direct Selling Association’s “Industry Innovation Award” for the Mary Kay® Personal Web Site program, which provides each Independent Beauty Consultant with the opportunity to have a website of her own.

Richard Rogers, son of Mary Kay Ash and company co-founder, resumes role of CEO.

Mary Kay Ash passes away Nov. 22, 2001, on Thanksgiving Day - her favorite holiday.

2002

Mary Kay Inc. is awarded the Direct Selling Association’s “Vision for Tomorrow Award” for its community outreach regarding the prevention of violence against women.

Mary Kay Inc. is awarded the 2002 Humanitarian of the Year Corporate Award from the Los Angeles Commission on Assaults Against Women for its efforts to help eliminate violence against women, youth and children.

Mary Kay Ash is named a 2002 Dallas Business Hall of Fame Laureate and is inducted into The Academy of Achievement of Sales and Marketing Executives.

2003

Mary Kay Inc. celebrates its 40th anniversary, and the Mary Kay independent sales force reaches 1 million people around the world.

Mary Kay Ash is named the Greatest Female Entrepreneur in American History in an academic study led by Baylor University.

2004

Mary Kay Ash is named one of the “25 Most Influential Business Persons of the Past 25 Years” by PBS’s Nightly Business Report in conjunction with the prestigious Wharton School of Business.

Mary Kay Ash posthumously receives the Humanitarian Rose Award from Kensington Palace in London, England, for the work she inspired through The Mary Kay FoundationSM.

2005

Mary Kay Inc. reaches $2 billion in consolidated global wholesale sales.

Mary Kay China celebrates its 10th anniversary.

Richard Rogers assumes the role of Executive Chairman, and David Holl is named President and Chief Executive Officer.

2006

A&E Television Networks airs the biopic documentary “Mary Kay” on the Biography Channel.

2007

Mary Kay® products are sold in more than 35 markets worldwide.

2008

Mary Kay Inc. celebrates its 45th anniversary and launches its formal global corporate social responsibility initiative, Pink Changing Lives® with the sole purpose of changing the lives of women and children around the world.

Mary Kay debuts Beauty That Counts®, the company’s first global cause-related marketing program supporting women and children.

The Dallas Business Journal names Mary Kay to its list of top local corporate philanthropists.

2009

Mary Kay achieves $2.5 billion in global wholesale sales, and the independent sales force reaches 2.5 million people around the world.

A&E Television Networks airs the biopic documentary “Mary Kay” on the Biography Channel.

2010s

2010

Mary Kay Argentina celebrates its 30th anniversary. Mary Kay celebrates 10 years in Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Philippines and Slovakia and 5 years in Moldova. Mary Kay opens operations in Armenia.

Mary Kay receives the first ever “Do Good” stamp from Ladies' Home Journal. The “Do Good” stamp was created by the magazine to recognize companies that contribute to making the world a better place. Mary Kay is specifically honored for its combined efforts to keep women and girls safe against domestic violence.

2011

Through its 2008 and 2010 Beauty That Counts® campaigns, Mary Kay marks the donation of nearly $4 million (USD) to causes impacting women and children around the world.

TimeWise® Night Restore & Recover Complex® and TimeWise® Miracle Set® earn the prestigious Good Housekeeping Seal.

Mary Kay employees, independent sales force, friends and family participate in the Company’s first ever Global Month of Service.

2013

Mary Kay Inc. celebrates its 50th anniversary. More than 3 million people around the world are Mary Kay Independent Beauty Consultants.

Mary Kay received the first ever Do Good stamp to recognize companies that contribute to making the world a better place from Ladies Home Journal.