Ruth was raised in Denver by Polish immigrants. She met her husband at a dance put on by the Jewish fraternal organization B'nai B'rith when she was 16. Years later, she returned to her home city to speak to the Jewish philanthropic community about her rollercoaster ride as the founder of a Fortune 500 company.
Ruth co-founded 3 plastic companies ~ including the toy-industry giant Mattel ~ with her husband. But, things weren't always easy for the power couple. They got their start in business during WWII when Elliot came home from the army base on the weekends. A decade after they went public with Mattel, Ruth was diagnosed with breast cancer. And, faced an SEC investigation about falsifying profits that ultimately led to her resignation from the company in 1975. Ruth made her comeback in1976 with a new company ~ Nearly Me ~ that revolutionized the industry for mastectomy products.