Melissa Bernstein

Melissa Bernstein grew up in a family that moved often — Pennsylvania, Colorado, then Westport, Connecticut — and told Hadassah Magazine that being the new child, and often the only Jewish child, was a strain she never felt able to voice. She and Doug Bernstein, introduced by their mothers, left corporate careers in investment banking and advertising and founded Melissa & Doug in 1988 in a basement and a garage. Three of their four parents were teachers; the first product to draw attention was the Fuzzy Farm textured wooden puzzle. The company built a catalogue of wooden puzzles, arts and crafts and pretend-play sets on one idea — simple play that leaves the imagining to the child — and was sold to Spin Master in 2024. She has since written openly about the depression she carried through all of it.