Business & PhilanthropyCivil Rights
A legendary life
Madam C. J. Walker
Sarah Breedlove
1867 – 1919
Entrepreneur, philanthropist, and activist who built a major hair-care business for Black women.
Her story
A life that changed history
Madam C. J. Walker developed and marketed cosmetics and hair-care products through the company she founded. Often recognized as America's first female self-made millionaire, she used her success to support civil rights organizations, education, and the arts.
“There is nothing to equal it. Not even on Fifth Avenue.”
Letter to attorney F. B. Ransom describing her Harlem townhouse and salon, 1913