The first daughter. Independent Senior National Sales Director Emeritus Elizabeth Fitzpatrick has the unique distinction of being the first daughter of an Independent National Sales Director to become one herself. “Through my mother, I got to see the beauty of a Mary Kay business from the top,” Elizabeth says. “But I thought it wasn’t for me.”

Life circumstances changed her mind. Three months pregnant, Elizabeth hated the thought of working 50-hour weeks as a journalist. So she called her mom, now Independent Elite Executive National Sales Director Emeritus Shirley Hutton, and asked for money. Instead, Shirley offered her the Mary Kay opportunity.

“Sharing this opportunity with me was the greatest gift my mother could have given me, and I will always be grateful because it has changed my life forever,” Elizabeth says.

Her Mary Kay business has taken her through several moves, a divorce and custody battle, a new marriage and three children. Through it all, she’s maintained her priorities.

“My priorities are so different from many executive women I know. I put God first, my family second and my career third. And somehow there is still time to play golf and tennis, go skiing and take my kids to the park,” Elizabeth says.

And of being part of the first mother-daughter Independent National Sales Director team in Company history, she says: “It hasn’t been easy, but I’ve learned to run my own race. Mary Kay is a Company that allows you to be who you are and never compares you to your peers – or your mother!”