TV and fashion personality Maggie Tabberer has died aged 87.

She started her career as a model and later became a household name through her work in publishing and television and was a two-time Gold Logie winner.

For 15 years, she was fashion editor of the Australian Women’s Weekly and was frequently featured on the magazine’s cover.

Her death was announced by her family on social media.

“This morning we lost our beautiful mother and Nanna,” one of her daughters said. 

A popular TV personality

Born in Adelaide, Tabberer was discovered by photographer Helmut Newton in Melbourne at the age of 23 and became Australia’s Model of the Year in 1960.

In 1963, she began writing a fashion column for the Daily Mirror which became a staple in the publication for 16 years.

A year later, she pivoted to television, becoming a panellist on the Beauty and the Beast in 1964, before creating her own daily chat show Maggie. 

It marked the beginning of a long career on Australian screens. 

Tabberer won back-to-back Gold Logies in 1970 and 1971 when she was voted Most Popular Female Personality.

She also made regular appearances on talk and lifestyle shows through the 1980s and 1990s, including Midday and Good Morning Australia. 

Tabberer then co-hosted The Home Show with her then-partner Richard Zachariah, which aired on the ABC in the 90s.

The fashion editor

In 1967, Tabberer started her public relations company Maggie Tabberer and Associates, and launched a plus-size clothing label called Maggie T in 1981. 

She would go on to become fashion editor of Australia Women’s Weekly magazine from 1981. 

In 1998, Tabberer was awarded the Order of Australia for her contributions to the advancement of the Australian fashion industry and for her support of charitable organisations.

Speaking on ABC Conversations in 2009, Tabberer said working in fashion brought a significant amount of joy — especially when it came to providing creative clothing options to plus-size Australian women.

“With Maggie T, we had a $5 million order from the Myer group on the first showing, which was unheard of. It just took off like mad,” she said.

“[That size range] wasn’t being catered for at the time.”

Her personal life

Tabberer took her surname from her first husband, Charles Tabberer, who she married at 17.

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Together they had two daughters, Brooke and Amanda. 

Following the separation from her first husband, Tabberer and her daughters moved from Adelaide to Sydney.

She married Italian restaurateur Ettore Prossimo in 1967. That same year, Tabberer and Prossimo welcomed a baby boy, who died at just 10 days old from sudden infant death syndrome.

Tabberer and Prossimio separated in 1985, and she embarked on a relationship with journalist Richard Zachariah, which lasted until 1995.

In her final years, Tabberer graced the cover of The Australian Women’s Weekly in 2021.

In the interview, she was asked if she had a bucket list of things she still wanted to do while in retirement.

“No. I just want to go on as I am and have more of what I’ve got,” she said.

“A good accountant, friends and family who make me laugh and are happy to see me. All those nice warm things are what life’s all about.”