Tova Traesnaes
#229,725 Most Popular
About
Perhaps best known as the fifth and final wife of American screen actor Ernest Borgnine, this Norwegian-born woman also rose to fame through founding a successful cosmetics company called Beauty by Tova.
Before Fame
After taking acting classes in New York City, she opened a makeup studio in New Jersey. She later relocated to Las Vegas, Nevada, where she became famous for selling a cactus-derived facial cream to Hollywood celebrities.
Trivia
She received the 1998 Women's Fragrance of the Year FiFi Award.
Family Life
The daughter of an artist father and a United States Embassy translator mother, she spent her early years in Oslo, Norway. Her first marriage resulted in one child and ended in divorce; her second marriage, to Borgnine, began in 1973 and lasted until Borgnine's death in 2012.
Associated With
Her famous husband's previous wives included Mexican film actress Katy Jurado and brassy-voiced musical theater star Ethel Merman.
