Marie Kondo got her start in helping people learn to tidy up when she was still a teenager. She even loved organizing as a child. Her worldwide fame, however, really came along when she wrote “The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up,” which became a New York Times bestseller and launched her into TV and radio.

Through her company, KonMari Media, Inc., she helps clients discover simpler, more productive ways of tidying up their homes. Her practical tidying methods and gentle, kind personality scored her a feature Netflix series. Her popularity has not waned since then as she is a regular on the talk show circuit.

Kondo ascribes to many Shinto beliefs, advising clients to focus on their spiritual connections with their things and to cultivate the spirit of the home. Her motto is that everything must “spark joy.” She shares a joyful life with her two daughters, Satsuki and Miko, and her husband, Takumi Kawahara.