'Beautiful' Maggie Tabberer, Australia's first supermodel and TV star, dies aged 87

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Australia’s first supermodel and TV icon Maggie Tabberer has died aged 87.

Her death was announced by her family on social media on Friday (December 6). "This morning we lost our beautiful mother and Nanna," her daughter Amanda wrote. She went on: “She was an icon in every sense of the word and we will miss her dearly . . . Along with the rest of Australia. Rest in peace Nanna. We love you to bits forever.” She did not give her cause of death.

Tabberer started her career as a model and later became a household name through her work in television and the media. For 15 years, she was fashion editor of the Australian Women's Weekly and was frequently featured on the magazine's cover.

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Publishing executive and former magazine editor Ita Buttrose told local ABC Radio National that Tabberer was "a great woman" in tribute, after the news of her death broke. "I first met her when I was a cadet journalist, and she was then modelling . . . I remember thinking just how beautiful she was. We hit it off," Buttrose said.

She said of her long-time friend and colleague that "she was in a class of her own She was just a natural and always a star. There were no airs and graces about Maggie. What you saw was what you got."

Deborah Hutton, Tabberer's longtime colleague and understudy at Women's Weekly wrote a tribute to her online. “No words right now . . . Just tears. My heart goes out to the girls. May you rest in peace, beautiful Maggie,” she said.

Australia's first supermodel Maggie Tabberer with her daughter's Amanda and Brooke. Maggie has died at the age of 87. Photo by Instagram/@my_amalfi_coast.Australia's first supermodel Maggie Tabberer with her daughter's Amanda and Brooke. Maggie has died at the age of 87. Photo by Instagram/@my_amalfi_coast.
Australia's first supermodel Maggie Tabberer with her daughter's Amanda and Brooke. Maggie has died at the age of 87. Photo by Instagram/@my_amalfi_coast. | Instagram/@my_amalfi_coast

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 ran for 16 years and was a favourite among readers.

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A year later, she moved in to the world of television and went on to host her own daily chat show called Maggie. Thanks to her success, Tabberer won back-to-back Gold Logies in 1970 and 1971 when she was voted Most Popular Female Personality. The Logies is an annual ceremony celebrating and honouring the best shows and stars in Australian television.

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.

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Tabberer married twice in her life. She said ‘I do’ to her first husband, Charles Tabberer, when she was 17. 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, but he died at just 10-days-old from sudden infant death syndrome. Tabberer and Prossimo separated in 1985, and she then began 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."

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