Welcome to "She Pivots," our joint podcast with Marie Claire.

Joan Boyce is larger than life. She wears huge glasses and her lenses are tinted. For decades, her vibrant personality and love of the opulent have been part of her identity, but she has not always been the famous jewelry designer she is today. Once a teacher in New York City, she grew her business from a small counter in West Hampton Beach in the 1960s to a multimillion-dollar luxury and costume jewelry business.

Her jewelry is favored by the most famous celebrities, even calling Mariah Carey her "adopted daughter."

"There's nothing sensitive about me at all. I can say that from the beginning," says Boyce.

But her success did not come overnight; it is rooted in humility. She first taught in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn, where she met her husband, Allen. He was the principal of her school and had been in education for over 30 years. They started a family and opened their home to many foster children. During that time, she slowly built up her jewelry business.

At first she sold only to friends and family, but one summer Boyce took the plunge and opened a counter in West Hampton Beach. There was one problem, though: as an interracial couple in the 1960s, they faced red tape and racism when trying to find a place to live. One man took a chance, went behind the back of the town council, and rented them a house.

Eventually, with the encouragement of her husband, whom she says was her most extraordinary event, she left teaching for over a decade.

Throughout her career, Boyce went on to work with some of the most prominent retailers. From Saks Fifth Avenue to Neiman Marcus, her designs have been worn by women all over the world.

After more than 30 years in design and retail, Boyce's career recently entered a new chapter: in 2009, the 68-year-old signed a contract with HSN to create and sell a line of costume jewelry on the home shopping network.

"I never saw it as just selling," Boyce said. 'I wanted to entertain them and make them feel good about themselves. It meant a lot to me."

Now over 80 years old, Boyce still sells her jewelry in her main store in West Hampton, surrounded by leopard print and diamonds. Talking fondly of the women her age who have inspired her over the years, she plans her next steps.

Boyce's engaging personality led her from teacher to jewelry designer to television personality. But as a businesswoman married to a black man in the 1960s, her path was not a simple one. For Beuys, however, her love story was a major driving force in taking her career to new heights. Read her full story below.