Background and career
Joy Mangano ( mang-GAN-oh; born February 15, 1956) is an American inventor and entrepreneur known for inventions such as the self-wringing Miracle Mop. She was the president of Ingenious Designs, LLC, and appeared regularly on the U.S. television shopping channel HSN until her departure in late 2018. Mangano is the founder and CEO of Clean Boss, a company that develops and sells cleaning products. Mangano released her autobiography, Inventing Joy, in 2017. The 2015 film Joy was loosely based on her life. Jennifer Lawrence won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Comedy or Musical and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress for her portrayal of Mangano. A stage musical inspired by her life premiered in 2022, also titled Joy. In 2021, she premiered a reality competition show on USA Network for aspiring entrepreneurs called America's Big Deal.
Mangano was born in Brooklyn and raised in Huntington, New York. Mangano began inventing at an early age when, as a teenager working at an animal hospital in Huntington, New York, on Long Island, she dreamed up a fluorescent flea collar to keep pets safe. A product with a similar design was released the next year by Hartz Mountain. After graduating from Pace University with a degree in business administration in 1978, she held a variety of jobs, including waitress and airline reservations manager while raising her three children as a divorced mother.
Mangano is a named inventor of 71 patent families and 126 distinct patent publications for her inventions. "I think my products have been successful because they have mass appeal. I'm just like everybody else out there. I'm a mom, I work, I have a house to clean, things to organize. We all have similar needs, and I address them."
In 1990 after growing frustrated with ordinary mops, Mangano developed her first invention, the "Miracle Mop", a self-wringing plastic mop with a head made from a continuous loop of 300 feet (90 meters) of cotton that can be easily wrung out without getting one's hands wet. With her own savings and investments from family and friends, she made a prototype and manufactured 1000 units. The mop sold modestly at first, but once QVC allowed Mangano to go on-air to sell it herself, she sold 18,000 mops in less than a half hour. Mangano incorporated her business as Arma Products, later renaming it Ingenious Designs. She sold Ingenious Designs to USA Networks, the parent company of the HSN, in 1999. By the year 2000, the company was selling $10 million worth of Miracle Mops per year.
In 2020, Mangano launched CleanBoss, a non-toxic cleaning product brand. In 2023, CleanBoss announced rapper Pitbull as a co-founder. He is one of the largest investors in the company, alongside Mangano and Irving Place Capital’s John D. Howard.
Huggable Hangers – velvet-flocked, no-slip hangers whose thin profile conserves closet space. Endorsed by Oprah Winfrey, Huggable Hangers were HSN's best-selling product as of 2010, with more than 1 billion sold. Forever Fragrant – a line of home odor neutralizers including sticks, wickless candles, scent stands, finials, spheres, drawer liners, and shoe shapers. Mangano broke an HSN record on January 31, 2010, by selling 180,000 units in one day. The Forever Fragrant line has earned the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval. Clothes It All Luggage System – wheeled luggage with organizational features like a padded laptop compartment, a toiletry organizer, a pocket for plane tickets, and removable dividers. They range from smaller duffel bags to a 22-inch (56-centimeter) portable dresser with removable drawers, as well as a briefcase and pet carrier. Performance Platforms – shoes with a rubber platform heel that gives the wearer extra height. In May 2010, Mangano sold 30,000 pairs in three hours on HSN. The line began as sneakers, and has since branched to Mary Janes, mules, and sandals. The shoes are produced in conjunction with the Grasshoppers division of the Stride Rite Corporation. Comfort & Joy Textiles – bedding made from Supima cotton and down alternative with a reversible, zippered duvet cover and sheets that are attached to the bed skirt for removal and cleaning. Shades Readers – a line of reading glasses sold in sets of three or more so that they can be kept around the home and office for easy access. Mangano has sold more than 13 million pairs.
