MAY 2018 • LONGISLANDPRESS.COM 9
COVER STORY
MOTHER OF INVENTION
LIP: Did you think the movie
Joy, inspired by your life, was an
accurate depiction?
JM: Yes, absolutely. When David
O. Russell finished filming he had a
five-and-a-half-hour movie because
my life is such a roller coaster. It
was very real, but just a part of the
story. It was Hollywood. Jennifer
Lawrence, Bradley Cooper, Robert
DeNiro were amazing. Jennifer was
brilliant. She deserved the Golden
Globe Award for best actress. I’ll
never forget sitting at Twentieth
Century Fox studios when I saw the
movie for the first time, and all the
executives were around me wanting
to see my reaction. It was so surreal.
LIP: Did you know the film’s
director before? And, was it your
idea to bring the movie to Twentieth
Century Fox?
JM: The answers to both are no
and no. I am an inventor and a
product person. Years ago, I was a
judge on a TV show very different
from what Barry Diller started on
USA Network. The producer of that
show said, “One day I am going to
make a movie about your life. It is
so fascinating.” I got a call a few
years later and he said, “Joy, I am
in here with all these Hollywood
producers. We are going to make
a movie about your life.” Shortly
after, the phone rings and it is David
O. Russell. Hundreds of hours
later, the movie is made. It was
amazing. Interestingly enough, a
very prominent producer in the
theatrical world, Ken Davenport, is
now making a musical, Joy, based
on my life. I cannot wait to see it.
LIP: What a year it has been with
the #MeToo movement, with some
even calling 2018 the Year of the
Woman. As a powerful female, are
you partial to women in industry?
JM: In all honesty, I am partial
to people. I love people. I love
my customer. I dream about my
customer when I am designing
something. Twenty-five years ago,
I was the only woman in so many
meetings. It is always a hard road for
various people for various reasons.
Globally, I say you need to earn your
seat at the table.
LIP: When you were raising three
small children alone, how did you
find your courage?
JM: It was a very long road with lots
of challenges but if I ever stopped
you wouldn’t be sitting here talking
to me today. It was during the late
’80s, early ’90s. My family was
Italian. My grandmother and great
grandmother came from Italy and I
was raised to grow up, get married,
have children, and cook and cook
and cook. When I told them I was
getting a divorce it was like the end
of the world happened. Talk about
having to have courage. I was starting
a business and I was finally going to
do what I have always wanted to do.
LIP: It must be an incredible feeling
knowing that you were there when
home shopping was just starting to
capture an audience. Would you say
you changed the game?
JM: Yes. I changed the game and I
am still changing the game. I think
we have made so many changes in
that industry. Nothing else existed at
the time. It was the early ’90s. Home
shopping and buying something
from the TV was very unique.
LIP: Your TuffTech™ Luggage
Collection sold out of nearly 30,000
sets in less than an eight-hour
period when it made its debut on
HSN in 2016. Tell us about that.
JM: People probably don’t know I
have been designing luggage for well
over 10 years. That little old saying,
‘When everything gets complicated
you don’t have to reinvent the wheel.’
Well, I did. I reinvented the wheel.
Ninety-seven percent of luggage
damage is from wheels that break.
I created a wheel with SpinBall™
technology. This luggage gives you
20 percent more packing space. It
is unbelievable, and the material is
TuffTech ™. It is the same material
they use in bulletproof vests so it
Jennifer Lawrence, Joy Mangano and Bradley Cooper at the opening of the
2015 movie about her life.
doesn’t tear or rip easily. I am so
proud of the luggage, as proud as I
am of the Miracle Mop®.
LIP: Are there any new products we
should be on the lookout for?
JM: I can’t say yet but it is very big.
You will be able to throw out 15
things with this one thing. How
does that sound? It will be out at
the end of the year and let’s just say
it is based on almost 10 years of
science.
LIP: Can you tell us some things
that your fans may not know about
you?
JM: A lot of people don’t know that I
introduced with Chef Ming Tsai the
first ceramic nonstick technology. It
changed the cooking industry, now
it is everywhere. When I discover
something and discover innovation
I go after it. It doesn’t matter what
industry. For me, it is for the
consumer to have a better product,
a healthier product, a safer product.
LIP: So many people face hardships
that can get in the way of their
dreams. What would you tell them?
Joy Mangano with the product that
launched her career, The Miracle
Mop.
JM: It is easy to say, ‘I can’t do it!’
Who doesn’t wake up on occasion
and say, ‘How am I going to get
through this?’ That has happened
to me many times. You have to look
within and then use the people
around you. If you have positive
people, go to the person who is
going to say, ‘You know you can do
this!’