Beauty mogul Tova Borgnine, who made millions from listing her products on QVC, has died at the age of 80.
Born in Norway in 1941, Tova moved to the US at the age of seven and opened several cosmetics companies in her lifetime, including Tova Beverly Hills.
She had huge success at QVC, where she sold cosmetics, skincare and perfumes, including the wildly popular Tova Signature perfume.
Ten years after her husband, Oscar-winning actor Ernest Borgnine, was widowed in 2012, Towa passed away at her home in Chester County, Pennsylvania on February 26.
Beauty mogul Tova Borgnine, whose company was a top seller on QVC, died at the age of 80 at her home in Chester County, Pennsylvania on Feb. 26.
She was married to Oscar winner Ernest Borgnine for 39 years, until his death (pictured in 1994).
“With the Halo of Heaven, she captured our hearts, minds and senses by giving us a Signature that shared our beauty,” her company’s Instagram page said in a statement.
“With attention to detail and design, her jewelry brought sparkle to every day. With her stories, we traveled with her from Hollywood to distant lands, feeling as if we were standing next to her.
“From the bottom of our hearts we thank you, Tova, for the grace, beauty, elegance and joy that you have brought to all of us. It is with heavy hearts that we share the peaceful death of Tov Borgnine, our founder, leader and friend.
Tova was born Tove Tresnaesin in Oslo to a graphic artist and translator who divorced when she was seven years old.
After moving to New York with her mother, she grew up dreaming of Hollywood, but found that cosmetics had become her calling.
“I was more focused on being a world-class actress, but part of my coursework at the Actors Studio in New York was learning how to apply makeup with characters, and I got more into how to create these different visuals.” – she said. told Leaders magazine.
She opened several beauty salons in her lifetime, but hit her stride when she bought an ancient Aztec skincare recipe from a Mexican family.
After she married Ernest in 1973 (pictured in 1981), he touted her skincare mask and drew attention to himself.
It continued to expand and in 1984 launched Tova Signature. By 1987, it had 65 skincare products and 80 employees (pictured in 1981).
“I’ve also been very fortunate to learn from some master makeup artists who went on to win an Academy Award.”
She then opened her first of many beauty ventures: Tova’s Touch, a beauty boutique located on the Jersey Shore.
Her personal life was a bit more turbulent in those early years, with two marriages and divorces.
Unmarried, she and her mother eventually moved to Las Vegas together, where Towa opened another beauty salon catering to showgirls.
At the time, she believed Nevada’s dry air could age women prematurely and reportedly asked actress Merle Oberon about her secret to great skin.
When Merle told her that she was using an ancient Aztec concoction made by her family in Mexico, Towa found her family and bought the recipe.
Then, in 1971, she met the man who would become her third and final husband: Ernest. But according to the New York Times, that was no guarantee: when they were introduced by a mutual friend, Marty Allen, Ernest told him, “Forget it, I’m done with women.”
Soon QVC called and in November 1990 they began selling their products on the air.
By the mid-2000s, Tova Signature was QVC’s top-selling perfume, with its entire brand selling between $15 million and $20 million a year before the pandemic.
But he did not finish, and the couple married in 1973, marking her third marriage and his fifth.
All this time, Tova was still working on her Aztec skin care mask. And although she had not yet figured out how to produce and distribute it, she made a fan out of her husband.
“So she tells me, ‘Honey, try it.’ I say: “Grumble, grumble.” But I put it on,” he told The Boston Globe in 1978. “So help me, Hannah, I love it.”
In fact, Ernest, talking about the product, helped get it off the ground. She recalled how he bragged about his glowing skin to a San Francisco Chronicle reporter who published it in his article, which led to “an influx of orders.”
Hundreds of people wrote to them asking to buy a mask, even sending checks. She soon turned it into a mail-order business, advertising in Vogue and newspapers.
Meanwhile, Ernest continued to brag to reporters about his wife’s business, and other stars, including Burt Reynolds and Charo, became his fans.
Her marriage also remained strong, and in 1997 she published the book Being Happy Married Forever: 22 Secrets, 12 Strategies, and 8 Compromises (pictured in 2006).
It continued to expand and in 1984 launched Tova Signature. By 1987, she had 65 skin care products and 80 employees.
Soon QVC called and in November 1990 they began selling their products on the air.
“In the late 80s and early 90s, banks were reluctant to give large loans to women,” says Tova. “QVC was very helpful at the time because the demand was over our specific budget.”
By the mid-2000s, Tova Signature was QVC’s top-selling perfume, with its entire brand selling between $15 million and $20 million a year before the pandemic.
In 2009, she received the Fragrance Foundation’s Salesperson of the Year award.
Her marriage also remained strong, and in 1997 she published the book Being Happily Married Forever: 22 Secrets, 12 Strategies, and 8 Compromises.
The book was full of old-fashioned advice, including: “Focus on your husband. He is a lion; he is the head of the pride, the king of the jungle. Let him be the leader of your pack.
Towa leaves behind her son David Johnson and adopted children Christopher Borgnine, Sharon Borgnine and Nancy Borgnine. She also had six grandchildren.