Myrna Colley-Lee built her own career in costume design after her marriage to Morgan Freeman ended
Myrna Colley-Lee is best known as Morgan Freeman's ex-wife, but that label barely scratches the surface. A celebrated American costume designer, Colley-Lee has designed since the late 1960s and is credited as one of the foremost costume designers in the Black Theatre Movement. She married Freeman in 1984 and filed for divorce in 2007, ending one of Hollywood's longer-standing marriages — but her story begins and ends with her art, not her ex-husband.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Key takeaways
- Myrna Colley-Lee and Morgan Freeman married in a small ceremony on 16 June 1984, after a mutual friend set them up.
- They separated in December 2007 and finalised their divorce in September 2010.
- Their marriage fell apart because of Morgan's continued infidelity; Myrna eventually filed for divorce.
- She has designed costumes for more than 70 productions at over 50 theatres across the United States.
- As of 2024, Myrna Colley-Lee's net worth is estimated at around $160 million.
Profile summary
Full name | Myrna Colley-Lee | Morgan Porterfield Freeman Jr. |
Born | 1941 | 1 June 1937 |
Place of birth | Hamlet, North Carolina | Memphis, Tennessee |
Nationality | American | American |
Profession | Costume designer, art director, set designer | Actor, producer |
Married | 16 June 1984 | 16 June 1984 |
Separated | December 2007 | December 2007 |
Divorce finalised | September 2010 | September 2010 |
Children | None (biological) | Alphonse, Saifoulaye, Deena, Morgana |
Who is Myrna Colley-Lee?
Myrna Colley-Lee was born in Hamlet, North Carolina, in 1941. She obtained her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree at the Women's College of the University of North Carolina, then pursued her Master’s degree in scenic and costume design at Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Before fully committing to costume design, Myrna worked as an art supervisor at Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools in North Carolina and even served as a social worker. Her true calling, however, was always the theatre.
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Myrna also had a significant stint in Liberia, West Africa, where she experienced the challenges of living abroad and even contracted malaria. Those formative experiences abroad sharpened her resilience and expanded her cultural outlook.
Myrna Colley-Lee's career as a costume designer
Colley-Lee is widely recognised as a pivotal costume designer in the Black Theatre Movement. She began her design career in the late 1960s, and her professional credits span more than five decades. Throughout this time, she has designed costumes and scenic concepts for more than 70 productions across more than 50 national venues and regional theatres
Her notable works include costume designs for The Piano Lesson, Forest City, Wedding Band: A Love/Hate Story in Black and White, The Ballad of Emmett Till, Ain't Misbehavin', Gee's Bend, Two Trains Running, Radio Golf, Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, Fences, and Bus Stop.
She has worked with prestigious theatres including the Goodman Theatre, Steppenwolf Theatre, Cleveland Playhouse, and St. Louis Repertory Theatre.
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Her screen credits include Frederick Douglass: An American Life (1985), where she led the costume and wardrobe department, and an appearance on 60 Minutes. Columbus Museum description of her Reflections exhibition:
Colley-Lee is herself a transplant to rural Mississippi, and her collection reflects in part her personal appreciation of the two traditions and the way in which she sees them intertwine.
Colley-Lee has also worked on her largest exhibition to date: A Theatre of Color: Costume Design for the Black Theatre by Myrna Colley-Lee.
Myrna Colley-Lee's philanthropy and civic work
She has held faculty or staff positions at Smith College, The Kennedy Centre's American College Theatre Festival, and the Design and Management Institute of the National Arts Consortium in New York. Outside the theatre, Myrna serves as a Commissioner for the Mississippi Arts Commission and is on the boards of Charleston Arts Revitalisation Effort and the Rock River Foundation, a philanthropic organisation for the arts.
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Over her career, she became a member of esteemed organisations such as the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, D.C., and the Black Theatre Network in St. Louis, Missouri.
Morgan Freeman's wife: how they met and married
They first met during an off-Broadway play in 1976, at a time when Morgan Freeman was struggling with alcohol and troubles in his first marriage. It was not exactly a fairy-tale first impression.
Over the next several years, their bond grew steadily, leading to a wedding ceremony on 16 June 1984. They chose a picturesque setting at Morgan's parents' home, off Highway 35 northwest of Charleston.
The two lived a relatively quiet life outside Hollywood, spending most of their time in Tallahatchie County in northern Mississippi, where Freeman owns a home.
During a 2005 interview with CBS News, Colley-Lee offered a candid take on Freeman's personality. When asked if he was a narcissist, she replied:
Narcissist strikes me as somebody who's in love with themselves. I don't see him as in love with himself. He's more full of himself. He's self-absorbed.
Why did Myrna Colley-Lee and Morgan Freeman divorce?
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A particular shock came in 2007 when news broke of Morgan Freeman's separation from his wife of 24 years, Myrna Colley-Lee.
The divorce petition was officially filed in July 2008, and the legal proceedings were sealed under court order. While tabloid media frequently speculated about extramarital affairs—including allegations involving schoolteacher Mary Joyce Hays and passenger Demaris Meyer from Freeman's 2008 car accident—neither party nor their attorneys publicly disclosed or verified the specific grounds for the split.
Meyer explicitly denied romantic involvement with Freeman, noting the couple was already legally separated when the accident occurred. Their divorce was finalised after a three-year legal process on 15 September 2010. Freeman's attorney William R. Wright said, as reported by WTHR News:
It was done without a trial. Everybody is glad it's over.
Myrna Colley-Lee's children
The couple never had any biological children, but Myrna was very close to Morgan Freeman's children from his other relationships. Colley-Lee was particularly close to E'dena Hines, Freeman's step-granddaughter.
Myrna Colley-Lee's net worth
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Court records and settlement agreements were sealed, leaving Myrna Colley-Lee's exact net worth and divorce settlement details officially unconfirmed. Some celebrity net worth websites estimate her wealth at around $160 million, although these figures remain unverified. Her sources of income and assets include:
- Decades of professional work as a costume designer, art director, and set designer
- A possible divorce settlement from Freeman, with media and tabloid reports citing widely varying payout figures ranging from $100 million to $400 million, though none are supported by court filings or financial records.
- Philanthropic board memberships and academic faculty positions
Although her divorce from Morgan Freeman will undoubtedly have boosted her finances, her personal value, work ethic, and continued patronage of the arts solidify her status as a respected figure in American culture.
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Colley-Lee's personal art collection — titled Reflections: African American Life from the Myrna Colley-Lee Collection — has been exhibited publicly, featuring 50 works including paintings, photographs, and fabric works that present the lives, traditions, and environments of African Americans from the 20th century to the present.
The exhibition features pieces by noted artists such as Romare Bearden, James Van Der Zee, Elizabeth Catlett Mora, Eudora Welty, and Betye Saar.
Colley-Lee continues to maintain a private public profile. No new interviews or public statements have been verified within the last six months. She remains active in arts philanthropy in Mississippi.
FAQs
- Is Myrna Colley-Lee still alive? Yes — born in 1941, Colley-Lee is 85 years old as of 2026, and no verified reports indicate otherwise.
- How old is Myrna Colley-Lee? Born on 16 September 1941 in Hamlet, North Carolina, she is in her early eighties. Note: her exact birth date is not uniformly confirmed across all sources.
- Why did Myrna Colley-Lee and Morgan Freeman divorce? Details about the couple's decision to split were never made public, but rumours of extra-marital affairs by Freeman have often been blamed.
- Does Myrna Colley-Lee have children? Colley-Lee never had children of her own, but she was close to Freeman's kids.
- What is Myrna Colley-Lee known for professionally? She is credited as one of the forefront costume designers in the Black Theatre Movement, with credits spanning more than seven decades of theatre, film, and television.
- When did Morgan Freeman and Myrna Colley-Lee get married? The couple married on 16 June 1984.
- What was Myrna Colley-Lee's divorce settlement? The court sealed the exact settlement. Reports differ widely, with estimates ranging from $100 million to higher, unverified figures.
- What is Myrna Colley-Lee's net worth? Multiple sources estimate her net worth at about $160 million, including her career earnings and divorce settlement.
Quick facts
- She has designed costumes since the late 1960s.
- She has designed for more than 70 productions at over 50 theatres across the US.
- She is working on A Theatre of Color, her largest exhibition to date.
- She serves as a Commissioner for the Mississippi Arts Commission.
- She is a member of the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, D.C.
Myrna Colley-Lee built a distinguished career in costume and scenic design beyond her marriage to Morgan Freeman. Her work in theatre, mentorship and preservation of African American culture has helped shape a legacy of her own.
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