Margie Petersen, philanthropist, wife of the late publishing magnate Robert E. Petersen and co-founding benefactor of Southern California’s Petersen Automotive Museum, passed away peacefully at her home in Beverly Hills on November 25, 2011, following a long and valiant battle with breast cancer. She was 76.
Born Margie McNally in New York, she enjoyed a successful career as a professional model appearing on hundreds of magazine covers and in a similar number of television commercials, while also working under contract to MGM as a television actress.
After marrying Robert E. Petersen, founder and chairman of Petersen Publishing, she began a lifelong involvement with charitable organizations, and together they established the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles where she served on the Board of Directors. She recently made a gift to the Museum, valued at $100 million, which included the building that houses the museum and their car collection.
She and her husband, who died in 2007, were predeceased by their two sons in 1975. There are no immediate family survivors.
