Sara Blakely | Early Life | Education | Family | Business | Wealth
Sara Blakely is a businesswoman and philanthropist; she is a self-made billionaire after she founded the shapewear company Spanx. It was the first shapewear company that was ever made for regular wear.
If you are interested in knowing more about Sara Blakely, then keep on scrolling down and know the story of this remarkable businesswoman.
Personal Biography
But before we get to know Sara Blakely deeper, here are a few facts about her that would help us to get to know her better.
| Name | Sara Treleaven Blakely |
| Age | February 27, 1971, Age 51, Clearwater, Florida, U.S. |
| Citizenship | American |
| Occupation | Businesswoman |
| Known For | Spanx Founder Sara Blakely |
| Spouse | Jesse Itzler (m. 2008) |
| Children | 4 |
| Education | Florida State University |
| Sara Blakely Net Worth | $1.3 billion |
Early Life
Born to parents John Blakely, a trial attorney, and Ellen Blakely, an artist, Sara Blakely, grew up with a brother, Ford Blakely, who is an artist as well.
She had a comparatively normal childhood, attending Clearwater High School, and then she went to Florida State University to get a degree in communications. While in college, she was a member of the sorority Delta Delta Delta.
Career
After getting her degree, she thought of becoming an attorney, but after scoring low marks on LSATs, her plans changed, and she got a job at Disney World. During the three months she worked there, she was also a stand-up comedian.
Then after three months, she took a job at Danka selling fax machines door to door. Everything was going great, but she hated her uniform as she had to wear open-toed shoes with pantyhose. And in that hot Florida weather, it was very difficult.
So she cut the feet of the pantyhose and wore it underneath her skirt; it made her body look firmer and gave it a shape. After moving to Georgia, she saved up about $5,000 and started researching her new hosiery idea.
Sara Blakely then drove to North Carolina to a hosiery mill and presented her idea to them. But they turned her away, then about two weeks later, a hosiery mill in Asheboro, North Carolina, called her to support her idea. She got the support of three daughters of the mill operator.
The initial line of her collection was ready in a year’s time. Blakely then hired a patent attorney to finalize her application to the United States Patent and Trademark Office. After that, she started working on the packaging. And then she patented the name “Spanx.”
In order to sell her product, she went to the Neiman Marcus Group, but as a presentation, she wore the Spanx herself rather than just showing them. After getting the green signal from them, she was able to sell her product in stores like Saks, Bloomingdales, and Bergdorf Goodman.
The Oprah Effect
At the same time, Sara Blakely sent a few of her products in a gift basket with a card explaining her concept to the Oprah Winfrey Show. Then while Blakely was promoting her product through acquaintances.
In 2000, Oprah said that Spanx was among her “favorite things.” These two words from Oprah skyrocketed the sales of Spanx and in terms of popularity as well. The sales reached $4 million in just the first years for Spanx and $10 million in the next year.
In 2012, Forbes put Sara Blakely on their cover for being the youngest self-made billionaire. She is listed in Forbes’s Powerful Women in the World list.
As of 2021, her company was estimated at $1.2 billion when Blackstone Group bought a majority of the stakes in her company, although retaining her as the Executive Chairwoman. In order to celebrate this moment, Spanx CEO Sara Blakely award her 750 employees $10,000 along with two first-class plane tickets to anywhere in the world.
Personal Life
Around 2008, Sara Blakely got married to Jesse Itzler, who is the co-founder of Marquis Jets, in Florida. The couple is happily married and has 4 children together. They live in Georgia. Sara has converted to Judaism recently.
Wrapping Up!
Now that you know the wonderful story about Sara Blakley and her journey toward building a shapewear empire like Spanx, so what do you think about her? Do you consider her a role model? Then give us a like and comment down below, to let us know.
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