Myrna Colley-Lee: Morgan Freeman’s Former Wife Who Built a Powerful Legacy in Costume Design and the Arts

Myrna Colley-Lee is often introduced as Morgan Freeman’s former wife, but that description leaves out most of her story. Myrna Colley-Lee is an acclaimed costume designer, set designer, art collector, arts advocate, and philanthropist whose career stretches back to the late 1960s. Mississippi State University describes her as one of the leading costume designers of the Black Theatre Movement, with work at more than 50 theaters and venues.

Her marriage to one of Hollywood’s most famous actors naturally brought her public attention. Yet long before and long after that relationship, Myrna was creating costumes, collecting important African American art, supporting arts organizations, and helping preserve theatrical history.

In 2026, she remains active in the Mississippi arts community and is currently listed as a trustee of the Mississippi Museum of Art.

Myrna Colley-Lee Quick Bio

Mississippi State University’s digital collection identifies Myrna as born in 1941, while university reporting describes her as a native of Hamlet, North Carolina. Her exact birthday is not clearly published by the strongest sources, so an exact age should be treated cautiously.

Who Is Myrna Colley-Lee?

Myrna Colley-Lee is an American artist whose career has focused heavily on theater.

When an audience watches a play, attention normally goes straight to the actors.

But imagine a historical drama where everyone walks onto the stage wearing modern jeans and sneakers.

The illusion disappears immediately.

Costume designers help prevent that.

They study the story, period, personality, location, colors, fabrics, and movement of every character. Then they create clothing that helps the audience believe in the world of the play.

Myrna has spent decades doing exactly that.

Mississippi State University says she has designed costumes for dozens of productions and films and has worked at more than 50 theaters and venues.

That career makes her much more than a celebrity ex-wife.

Myrna Colley-Lee Was Born in North Carolina

Myrna was born in North Carolina in 1941.

Mississippi State University later identified her specifically as a native of Hamlet, North Carolina.

Her life eventually took her far beyond her hometown.

She studied art.

She traveled extensively.

She worked in theaters around the United States.

And she later made rural Mississippi an important part of her home and creative identity.

The journey from a small North Carolina community to nationally recognized costume designer did not happen overnight.

Education played an important role.

Where Did Myrna Colley-Lee Go to College?

Myrna studied art education at what was then the Women’s College of the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.

The Mississippi Museum of Art says she earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Art Education there. She also studied scene painting at Brooklyn College.

She later attended Temple University in Philadelphia.

There, Myrna earned an MFA in Scenic and Costume Design.

That combination gave her skills beyond simply choosing attractive clothes.

She learned to think about entire theatrical environments.

Costumes.

Scenery.

Color.

Space.

Character.

All of these elements work together to tell a story.

Her Career Began in the Black Theatre Movement

Myrna started working professionally in theater during the late 1960s.

The Mississippi Legislature has recognized her as one of the foremost costume designers connected with the Black Theatre Movement.

This was an important period for Black American theater.

Artists, writers, actors, directors, and designers were creating work that centered Black voices and experiences in ways mainstream American theater had often failed to do.

A costume designer was an important part of that storytelling.

Clothing could communicate social class.

History.

Culture.

Age.

Personality.

Regional identity.

Even a character’s emotional state.

Myrna became one of the artists helping turn those stories into visual worlds.

Myrna Worked Across the United States

Her career did not remain limited to one city.

According to Mississippi legislative recognition, her stage work took her to theaters in places including St. Louis, Milwaukee, New York City, Seattle, and Mississippi.

That tells us something important about the scale of her career.

This was not someone who designed costumes for one local production and then stopped.

Myrna built decades of professional experience across theater communities around the country.

Mississippi State says her career eventually stretched across more than four decades.

She Also Worked in Film and Television

Myrna’s work was not limited to live theater.

IMDb credits her in the costume and wardrobe department of the 1985 production Frederick Douglass: An American Life.

Mississippi State also describes her as an art director and set designer for film and television productions.

That range is impressive.

Theater and film may look similar from the audience’s perspective, but designing for them can be very different.

A theater audience sees performers from a distance.

A movie camera can move inches away from a costume.

Tiny stitching, fabric texture, accessories, and historical details may suddenly become visible.

A successful designer must understand both worlds.

What Is GladRags Designs?

Myrna founded GladRags Designs, a costume and interior-design business based in Tallahatchie County, Mississippi.

Mississippi State University specifically identifies her as the founder of the firm.

The name fits her career perfectly.

“Glad rags” is an old informal phrase for special or fancy clothing.

Costumes are about much more than getting dressed, though.

For Myrna, clothing became part of storytelling.

Her design work combines research, history, art, character, and imagination.

Myrna Colley-Lee and Morgan Freeman

For people outside the theater world, Myrna became much more widely recognized through her relationship with Morgan Freeman.

Freeman had already been building a successful acting career when the two married.

Their wedding took place on June 16, 1984.

Over the following decades, Freeman’s career grew enormously.

He appeared in movies including Driving Miss Daisy, The Shawshank Redemption, Se7en, Million Dollar Baby, and many others.

Myrna often accompanied him to major public events.

Photographs show them together at premieres, awards ceremonies, and Hollywood celebrations during the 1990s and 2000s.

Myrna Was Beside Morgan During Major Career Moments

The couple’s marriage covered some of the most important years of Freeman’s career.

In March 2003, for example, Myrna joined him when he received his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Two years later, they attended the Academy Awards together.

That night was especially important for Freeman.

He won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for Million Dollar Baby.

Photographs from the ceremony show Morgan and Myrna arriving together.

For millions of viewers, Freeman was the famous person in those pictures.

But Myrna already had decades of artistic work behind her.

Did Morgan Freeman and Myrna Colley-Lee Have Children?

Morgan Freeman has four children from earlier relationships and family circumstances.

Strong public sources do not document Morgan and Myrna having biological children together.

Because family relationships around Freeman are sometimes described differently across entertainment websites, it is better not to invent a child simply to fill out a biography.

Myrna has generally kept the most personal parts of her family life outside public discussion.

Why Did Morgan Freeman and Myrna Colley-Lee Divorce?

Myrna and Morgan separated in December 2007.

Their divorce case was later filed under seal, meaning the full private details were not released publicly.

That is important.

Celebrity websites sometimes offer dramatic explanations for why a marriage ended.

But when the legal proceedings are private, outsiders do not actually know every conversation or problem inside the relationship.

Morgan and Myrna had been married for more than two decades.

Their representatives later said the settlement was reached without a trial.

When Was Their Divorce Finalized?

Their divorce became final on September 15, 2010, in Mississippi.

The Associated Press reporting carried by the Irish Independent said a Tallahatchie County judge entered the divorce decree that day.

UPI similarly reported that the settlement was amicable and that its financial terms were not made public.

That means specific online claims about how much money Myrna supposedly received in the divorce should be treated carefully.

The terms were sealed.

Unless reliable documentation becomes public, exact settlement amounts are speculation.

Myrna’s Career Did Not Depend on Morgan Freeman

This may be the most important part of her story.

Myrna had already built a career in theater.

She had education in art and costume design.

She had worked across American theaters.

She had accumulated costumes and artwork.

She had her own artistic reputation.

So when the marriage ended, she did not suddenly need to invent a new identity.

Her identity already existed.

Costume designer.

Collector.

Patron.

Arts advocate.

Those roles continued long after the divorce.

The Myrna Colley-Lee Costume Collection

One of Myrna’s biggest contributions to future artists can be found at Mississippi State University.

She donated costumes, vintage clothing, sketches, notes, papers, and other materials that became the Myrna Colley-Lee Costume Collection.

Some clothing dates back to the 1920s.

The collection includes dresses, jackets, coats, blouses, formal clothing, and other items accumulated during decades of design work.

Why give these things away?

Because costumes can keep teaching long after one production ends.

A theater student can study how clothing is constructed.

A designer can examine fabric.

A historian can research changing styles.

And local theater groups can even use parts of the working collection in productions.

Students Can Actually Use Her Costumes

This is what makes the collection especially interesting.

It is not simply locked behind glass.

Mississippi State developed part of it as a working costume collection.

School and community theater programs in Mississippi can rent pieces for productions.

That means something Myrna collected decades ago can suddenly return to a stage.

A jacket may become part of a character.

A dress may help create another era.

An old costume can begin telling a completely new story.

That is a wonderful kind of artistic recycling.

Myrna Received an Honorary Doctorate

Mississippi State University recognized Myrna’s contributions in another major way.

In 2007, the university awarded her an honorary Doctor of Creative Arts degree.

Honorary degrees are not given because someone simply attended school.

They recognize major contributions to a field or community.

For Myrna, it acknowledged decades of work in costume design and the arts.

Today, the university still maintains her collection and a permanent exhibit featuring selected costumes and notes.

Myrna Is Also a Serious Art Collector

Costumes are only one part of Myrna’s artistic life.

She is also an important collector of visual art.

Her collection became the basis of a traveling exhibition titled Reflections: African American Life from the Myrna Colley-Lee Collection.

The exhibition included roughly 50 works—paintings, photographs, collages, works on paper, and textiles.

Artists represented included major names such as:

Romare Bearden,

Elizabeth Catlett,

Betye Saar,

James Van Der Zee,

Charles White,

and Eudora Welty.

The collection focused strongly on African American life, community, storytelling, and the landscape of the American South.

Reflections Traveled to Museums

Myrna’s art collection did not remain inside her home.

Reflections traveled to museums and galleries in different parts of the country.

The Kalamazoo Institute of Arts presented it in 2013.

The Columbus Museum presented the exhibition from October 2016 into January 2017.

LSU Museum of Art displayed it in 2017.

This changed Myrna’s role again.

She was no longer simply someone creating visual art for theater.

She was helping audiences encounter the work of other artists too.

She Has Traveled the World Collecting Art

LSU Museum of Art described Myrna as a world traveler from the age of 17.

The museum said she collected objects and artwork wherever something had a personal impact on her—sometimes through traditional galleries and sometimes through direct encounters with artisans.

That tells us something about how she collects.

A collection does not need to be built only around investment value.

It can be personal.

A painting can remind someone of a place.

A photograph can capture a community.

A textile can hold a cultural memory.

Myrna’s collection became a way of connecting art, identity, and place.

Major Awards

Myrna has received numerous honors for her career.

The Mississippi Legislature notes awards including Outstanding Costume Design from the National Black Theatre Festival and a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Mississippi Institute of Arts and Letters.

Then came another major honor.

In 2022, the Mississippi Arts Commission gave Myrna the Governor’s Arts Award for Excellence in Costume Design & Arts Patron.

The award recognized both sides of her artistic life.

She creates art.

And she supports art.

Myrna Colley-Lee in 2026

Myrna has not disappeared from public life.

Mississippi State University’s current Story State project continues to highlight her as a leader of the Black Theatre Movement and notes her lasting costume collection.

Even more importantly, the current Mississippi Museum of Art Board of Trustees page lists Myrna Colley-Lee as a trustee.

That gives us a clear answer to the question:

“What is Myrna Colley-Lee doing now?”

She remains involved in the arts.

At an age when many people might completely retire, her name is still connected with museum leadership, cultural preservation, theater history, and artistic education.

How Old Is Myrna Colley-Lee in 2026?

Mississippi State archival metadata identifies her as born in 1941.

That means she is approximately 84 or 85 years old in 2026, depending on her exact birthday.

Because a reliable full birth date is not prominently documented, it is better to use that range rather than invent an exact age.

Myrna Colley-Lee’s Net Worth

Many celebrity websites publish supposed net-worth figures for Myrna.

These numbers should be treated carefully.

Her income from decades of design work is private.

Her art collection has value, but there is no public inventory giving a current total financial worth.

The financial details of her divorce from Morgan Freeman were sealed.

Her properties, investments, debts, and other assets are not publicly documented in enough detail.

Therefore:

Myrna Colley-Lee’s exact net worth is not publicly verified.

Interesting Facts About Myrna Colley-Lee

Myrna was born in North Carolina in 1941.

She earned a BFA in Art Education and an MFA in Scenic and Costume Design.

She began her theater career in the late 1960s.

Mississippi State calls her one of the foremost costume designers of the Black Theatre Movement.

She has worked at more than 50 theaters and venues.

She founded GladRags Designs in Tallahatchie County, Mississippi.

She married Morgan Freeman in 1984.

Their divorce was finalized in September 2010.

Mississippi State awarded her an honorary doctorate in 2007.

Her university costume collection contains hundreds of costumes, vintage clothing pieces, notes, sketches, and research materials.

She received a Mississippi Governor’s Arts Award in 2022.

And in 2026, she remains listed on the Mississippi Museum of Art’s Board of Trustees.

Myrna Colley-Lee Is More Than Morgan Freeman’s Ex-Wife

Search engines often reduce people to the connection users recognize first.

For Myrna, that connection is Morgan Freeman.

But imagine removing his name from her biography.

What remains?

A woman who trained professionally in art.

A costume designer with a career stretching back more than half a century.

A major figure in Black theater.

An art director.

A set designer.

A collector.

A philanthropist.

A museum trustee.

A donor whose costumes continue helping students and theater groups.

And an arts patron whose collection has toured American museums.

That would already be an impressive biography.

The marriage is simply one chapter inside it.

Final Thoughts

Myrna Colley-Lee spent about 26 years married to Morgan Freeman, but her own creative legacy may ultimately be the more interesting part of her story.

Born in North Carolina in 1941, she studied art education before completing an MFA in scenic and costume design at Temple University. She entered theater during the late 1960s and became one of the leading costume designers associated with the Black Theatre Movement.

Her work took her across America.

She designed for theater, film, and television.

She founded GladRags Designs.

She built a major collection of costumes and vintage clothes, then donated much of it so students and theater groups could learn from it.

She also built an important African American art collection that became the traveling exhibition Reflections.

In 2022, Mississippi honored her with the Governor’s Arts Award for Excellence in Costume Design & Arts Patron.

And in 2026, she remains active enough to be listed among the trustees of the Mississippi Museum of Art.

Morgan Freeman became famous by stepping in front of a camera.

Myrna Colley-Lee spent much of her life creating the visual worlds around performers—and then helping preserve those worlds for the next generation.

That deserves its own spotlight.

Frequently Asked Questions About Myrna Colley-Lee

Who is Myrna Colley-Lee?

Myrna Colley-Lee is an American costume designer, set designer, art collector and arts advocate. She is also known as Morgan Freeman’s former wife.

When was Myrna Colley-Lee born?

Mississippi State University’s collection metadata identifies her as born in 1941.

How old is Myrna Colley-Lee in 2026?

She is approximately 84 or 85 years old, depending on her exact birthday.

Where was Myrna Colley-Lee born?

She is a native of Hamlet, North Carolina.

What does Myrna Colley-Lee do?

She is best known professionally for costume and set design, art direction, art collecting and arts advocacy.

Where did Myrna Colley-Lee study?

She earned a BFA in Art Education from the Women’s College of the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and an MFA in Scenic and Costume Design from Temple University.

Was Myrna Colley-Lee a costume designer?

Yes. She has worked professionally in costume design for decades and is recognized as an important figure in the Black Theatre Movement.

When did Myrna Colley-Lee marry Morgan Freeman?

They married on June 16, 1984.

When did Morgan Freeman and Myrna Colley-Lee divorce?

Their divorce was finalized on September 15, 2010, after they had separated in 2007.

Why did Morgan Freeman and Myrna Colley-Lee divorce?

The divorce proceedings and settlement were largely private, so there is no responsible reason to claim outsiders know every cause of the breakup.

Did Myrna Colley-Lee and Morgan Freeman have children together?

Strong public sources do not document biological children born to the couple together.

What is the Myrna Colley-Lee Costume Collection?

It is a large collection at Mississippi State University containing costumes, vintage clothing, sketches, notes and research materials donated by Myrna.

What award did Myrna Colley-Lee receive in 2022?

She received the Mississippi Governor’s Arts Award for Excellence in Costume Design & Arts Patron.

What is Myrna Colley-Lee doing now?

In 2026, Myrna remains involved in the arts and is listed as a trustee of the Mississippi Museum of Art.

What is Myrna Colley-Lee’s net worth?

Her exact personal net worth has not been publicly verified. Specific numbers published by celebrity websites should be treated as estimates.

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