Moms to moguls
She's the author of some of the best-selling books in history who used to be on welfare and worked on her first books in cafes with her young daughter in tow.
The Food Network star, famous for her deep-fried cooking, started her catering business as a divorced mom of two sons and eventually opened her own restaurant.
The mother of five began her political career as a small-town city council member before becoming a governor and vice presidential candidate. Now she's written a second book and has a multi-year contract with a cable network.
The woman whose name is synonymous with the color pink started with one store and fostered her business into a makeup empire before her death in 2001.
The single mom was a secretary when she invented this helpful substance still used in offices today. She left quite a fortune when she died in 1980.
She and her husband once filed for bankruptcy, but they went on to run a successful sports entertainment company. She took a shot at political office.
She lost a lot of weight as a single mom and became a fitness guru with a popular catchphrase in the '90s.
The former manicurist was the new mom of premature twins when she mixed up a batch of nail product in her kitchen. Today she's a millionaire.
She was a 23-year-old single mom when she invented a popular hairstyling tool. Now she runs her own marketing company.
She was a law firm file clerk and divorced mother of three when she helped win one of the biggest civil lawsuits in U.S. history. Her story inspired an Oscar-winning performance.
The widow and mother of two worked her way up to the top spot at this food company and now earns millions each year.
She was a wife and mom with a catering company when she published the book that started her entertaining empire.
The happy host went from being a home crafter to making millions each year by selling her own line of clothing on QVC.
The English-born mom designed her first kid- and pet-friendly slipcovers in the '80s and now heads a hugely successful home goods business.
She started her company selling insurance to independent truckers around the same time she had her two kids; she later sold the lucrative business for millions.
