Margie Petersen, philanthropist, wife of the late publishing magnate Robert E. Petersen and co-founding benefactor of Southern California\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
She and her husband, who died in 2007, were predeceased by their two sons in 1975. There are no immediate family survivors.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Margie Petersen, philanthropist, wife of the late publishing magnate Robert E. Petersen and co-founding benefactor of Southern California\u2019s 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 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":106,"featured_media":546312,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[263,18114,18330],"tags":[17152,18435,18107,16791],"class_list":["post-492196","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-car-culture","category-people","category-profiles-car-culture","tag-car-culture","tag-people","tag-people-profiles","tag-profiles"],"yoast_head":"\n