Margaret May "Maggie" Tabberer (nee Trigar, born 11 December 1936) is an Australian fashion, publishing and media/television personality, who is a dual recipient of the
Gold Logie
The Gold Logie Award for Most Popular Personality on Australian Television, commonly referred to simply as the Gold Logie, is an award presented annually at the Australian Logie Awards.
The Gold Logie was first awarded at the 2nd Annual TV We ...
, and who founded her own fashion label and PR companies.
She is best known for her former long time position as
Fashion Editor
A fashion editor is a person that supervises the process of creating, developing and presenting content for the fashion department of a magazine, Web site, newspaper or television program.
The work of a fashion editor can be quite varied and may ...
of the ''
Australian Women's Weekly
''The Australian Women's Weekly'', sometimes known as simply ''The Weekly'', is an Australian monthly women's magazine published by Mercury Capital in Sydney. For many years it was the number one magazine in Australia before being outsold by th ...
''
Biography
Modelling and fashion career
Tabberer was born in
Parkside, South Australia
Parkside is an inner southern Suburbs and localities (Australia), suburb of Adelaide, South Australia. It is located in the City of Unley.
History
The suburb was once home to the mental health campus of the Royal Adelaide Hospital. Known as 'T ...
. At the age of 14 while attending her sister's wedding, Tabberer was spotted by a photographer and as a result got her first modelling job, a one-off assignment. In her early twenties she attended a modelling school and at the age of 23 was discovered by photographer
Helmut Newton
Helmut Newton (born Helmut Neustädter; 31 October 192023 January 2004) was a German-Australian photographer. The ''New York Times'' described him as a "prolific, widely imitated fashion photographer whose provocative, erotically charged black-a ...
, who mentored her and launched a highly successful modelling career. While living in
Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
in 1960, she won 'Model of the Year', and moved to
Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
to take advantage of the modelling opportunities there, but she chose to end her modelling career at the age of 25 after she began to lose her slim figure.
[Anthony, Nicole: ''Maggie Tabberer: This Is Your Life'', 21 August 1997.]
Tabberer stayed well connected to the fashion industry, however. In 1967 she started a
public relations
Public relations (PR) is the practice of managing and disseminating information from an individual or an organization (such as a business, government agency, or a nonprofit organization) to the public in order to influence their perception. P ...
company, Maggie Tabberer & Associates, which took on many fashion-related clients and assignments. In 1981, she launched a
plus-size clothing
Plus-size clothing is clothing proportioned specifically for people above the average clothing size. The application of the term varies from country to country, and according to which industry the person is involved in.
According to ''PLUS Model' ...
label called ''Maggie T''.
[Nicholson, Sara]
Model doesn't date
''The Courier-Mail
''The Courier-Mail'' is an Australian newspaper published in Brisbane. Owned by News Corp Australia, it is published daily from Monday to Saturday in Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid format. Its editorial offices are located at Bowen Hills, ...
'', 13 December 2006.
A portrait of her by Australian artist
Paul Newton was a finalist in the 1999
Archibald Prize
The Archibald Prize is an Australian portraiture art prize for painting, generally seen as the most prestigious portrait prize in Australia. It was first awarded in 1921 after the receipt of a bequest from J. F. Archibald, J. F. Archib ...
.
Publishing and PR work
Tabberer began working in publishing when she wrote a fashion column, "Maggie Says", for the ''
Daily Mirror
The ''Daily Mirror'' is a British national daily tabloid. Founded in 1903, it is owned by parent company Reach plc. From 1985 to 1987, and from 1997 to 2002, the title on its masthead was simply ''The Mirror''. It had an average daily print ...
'' newspaper in 1963. She remained with the paper for sixteen years, until billionaire
Kerry Packer
Kerry Francis Bullmore Packer (17 December 1937 – 26 December 2005) was an Australian media tycoon, and was considered one of Australia's most powerful media proprietors of the twentieth century. The Packer family company owned a controlling ...
asked her to become fashion editor of ''
Australian Women's Weekly
''The Australian Women's Weekly'', sometimes known as simply ''The Weekly'', is an Australian monthly women's magazine published by Mercury Capital in Sydney. For many years it was the number one magazine in Australia before being outsold by th ...
'' magazine in 1981, and she soon became the public face of the magazine, frequently appearing on its cover and television advertising. Tabberer stayed with ''Women's Weekly'' for fifteen years until 1996.
Television work
Tabberer began appearing on television in 1964, as one of the "beauties" on the panel talk show ''
Beauty and the Beast
''Beauty and the Beast'' (french: La Belle et la Bête) is a fairy tale written by French novelist Gabrielle-Suzanne de Villeneuve, Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve and published in 1740 in ''La Jeune Américaine et les contes marins'' ( ...
'' (the "beast" being the show's host:
Eric Baume
Eric Ehrenfried Baume OBE (29 May 190024 April 1967) was a New Zealand-born Australian based journalist, novelist, radio presenter, actor and television talk show host.
Early life
Eric Baume was born Frederick Ehrenfried Baume in Auckland, New ...
until 1965, and then
Stuart Wagstaff). Tabberer's appearances on ''Beauty and the Beast'' made her a household name, and she began hosting her own daily chat show, ''Maggie'', for which she won two consecutive
Gold Logies, in 1970 and 1971.
She was the first person to win consecutive awards, although
Graham Kennedy
Graham Cyril Kennedy AO (15 February 1934 – 25 May 2005) was an Australian entertainer, comedian and variety performer, as well as a personality and star of radio, theatre, television and film. He often performed in the style of vaudevilli ...
had already won three non-consecutive Gold Logies by 1970.
Since 2005, she has hosted her own television interview show, ''Maggie... At Home With'' on Australian
pay TV
Pay television, also known as subscription television, premium television or, when referring to an individual service, a premium channel, refers to subscription-based television services, usually provided by multichannel television providers, b ...
channel
Bio. (formerly The Biography Channel). On her show she "visits the homes of various Australian celebrities and elites to discuss their lives, careers, tragedies, and triumphs."
Personal life
Maggie took her surname from her first husband, Charles Tabberer, whom she married at the age of 17. They had two daughters: Brooke and Amanda. The demands of her modelling career, however, saw that marriage end after seven years.
After moving to Sydney with her daughters in 1960, Tabberer was introduced by
Helmut Newton
Helmut Newton (born Helmut Neustädter; 31 October 192023 January 2004) was a German-Australian photographer. The ''New York Times'' described him as a "prolific, widely imitated fashion photographer whose provocative, erotically charged black-a ...
to Ettore Prossimo, an Italian restaurateur, whom she married in 1967. In that same year, Tabberer gave birth to their son, Francesco, who died of
sudden infant death syndrome
Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) is the sudden unexplained death of a child of less than one year of age. Diagnosis requires that the death remain unexplained even after a thorough autopsy and detailed death scene investigation. SIDS usuall ...
when ten days old. The pair separated after 17 years of marriage, although they rekindled their friendship before Prossimo's death from a heart attack in 1996.
In 1985, Tabberer announced that she was in a relationship with journalist
Richard Zachariah. The couple co-presented a lifestyle television series, ''The Home Show'', on the
ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
from 1990 until 1995, when they split up.
Honours
In
Queen's Birthday
The King's Official Birthday (alternatively the Queen's Official Birthday when the monarch is female) is the selected day in the United Kingdom and most Commonwealth realms on which the birthday of the monarch is officially celebrated in those ...
Honours, Maggie Tabberer was made a
Member of the Order of Australia
The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...
for service to the community, particularly through support for charitable organisations, and to the advancement of the Australian fashion industry.
TABBERER, Margaret May
''It's an Honour'' (Australian Government).
Awards
References
External links
*
Harry M. Miller Management
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tabberer, Maggie
1936 births
Living people
Australian female models
Australian television personalities
Women television personalities
Gold Logie winners
Members of the Order of Australia
People from Adelaide