Maggie Tabberer

Maggie Tabberer AM (also known as Maggie T; born 11 December 1936) is a dual Gold Logie-winning Australian fashion, publishing and media/television personality.

Early life

She was born Margaret May Trigar on 11 December 1936 in Parkside, South Australia, a suburb of Adelaide.

Modelling and fashion career

Maggie's first modelling job was a one-off assignment at the age of 14, after a photographer spotted her at her sister's wedding. She attended a modelling school in her early twenties, and at the age of 23 was discovered by photographer Helmut Newton, who mentored her and launched a highly successful modelling career. While living in Melbourne in 1960, she won 'Model of the Year', and moved to Sydney 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.

Tabberer stayed well connected to the fashion industry, however. In 1967 she started a public relations company, Maggie Tabberer & Associates, which took on many fashion-related clients and assignments. In 1981, she launched a plus-size clothing label called Maggie T.