ABSTRACT
At one time the world’s highest-paid female advertising executive, Mary Wells Lawrence early on forged a reputation for glamour, elegance, excellent copywriting skills, and a keen business sense. Mary Wells Lawrence was born in Youngstown, Ohio, in 1928 and named Mary Georgene Berg. She was the only child of Waldemar Berg, a furniture salesman, and Violet Berg, a sportswear and millinery buyer for McKelvey’s department store. Because she was shy as a child, her parents sent her to drama and acting classes, which led to her performing by the age of five with the Youngstown Playhouse, a regional theater. At 17, she moved to New York City for a year to study acting with the Neighborhood Playhouse School.
