Myrna Colley-Lee is an American costume designer, art director, and arts philanthropist whose career in American theater spans several decades. While many people first encounter her name in connection with her former husband, actor Morgan Freeman, Colley-Lee built a respected career of her own, working behind the scenes on stage, television, and film productions long before and after that marriage.
Early Life and Education
Most biographical sources place Colley-Lee’s birth in 1941 in Hamlet, North Carolina, though a handful of profile sites list different years and birthplaces, so readers should treat the exact date as unconfirmed. What is consistently reported is her academic path into design: she earned a bachelor’s degree from the Woman’s College of the University of North Carolina (now the University of North Carolina at Greensboro), later studied scene painting and properties at Brooklyn College in New York, and went on to complete a master’s degree in scenic and costume design from Temple University in Philadelphia around 1980. This combination of a liberal-arts foundation and specialized theater training shaped the meticulous, historically grounded approach she later became known for.
Career in Costume Design
Colley-Lee’s professional breakthrough came through Broadway and regional theater. She received a Tony Award nomination for Best Costume Design for her work on the 1978 Broadway musical “Eubie!” From there, her résumé grew to include costume work for acclaimed productions associated with the Black Theatre Movement, including plays such as “Wedding Band: A Love/Hate Story in Black and White,” “The Piano Lesson,” and August Wilson’s “Radio Golf,” which she designed for a Pittsburgh production at the Public Theater.
Beyond the stage, she has been credited as a costume and art department contributor on television projects, including the documentary “Frederick Douglass: An American Life,” and made a brief on-camera appearance on the newsmagazine program “60 Minutes.” Over the course of her career, industry profiles note that she has designed costumes for more than seventy productions across dozens of theaters and venues in the United States, making her one of the more prolific and respected designers of her generation.
Marriage to Morgan Freeman
Colley-Lee married actor Morgan Freeman on June 16, 1984, after being introduced by a mutual friend. The couple largely avoided the Hollywood spotlight, spending much of their married life in Tallahatchie County in northern Mississippi. Their marriage lasted more than two decades before the couple separated; various reports place the divorce filing around 2007–2008 and its finalization several years later. The couple did not have biological children together, though Colley-Lee is reported to have remained close with Freeman’s children from earlier relationships. Because coverage of the marriage and divorce comes largely from entertainment and gossip outlets rather than primary sources, specific details such as settlement terms should be treated with caution.
Art Collecting and Philanthropy
In the years since, Colley-Lee has become known for her personal art collection focused on African American life and culture. In 2017, a selection from her collection was featured in an exhibition titled “Reflections: African American Life from the Myrna Colley-Lee Collection” at the Columbus Museum in Columbus, Georgia. The exhibit highlighted her long-standing interest in Southern and African American visual traditions, reflecting her decades spent living in rural Mississippi. She has also been associated with arts preservation and community initiatives, continuing a pattern of using her platform to support Black artists and cultural institutions.
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Legacy
Although her name is frequently tied to a famous marriage, Myrna Colley-Lee’s own body of work reflects a substantial and independent contribution to American theater. Her costume designs helped shape the visual identity of landmark Black theater productions during a pivotal era, and her later work as a collector and patron of the arts extended that legacy into the museum world. For those researching the history of Black theater in the United States, Colley-Lee’s career stands as a case study in craftsmanship, cultural preservation, and quiet, sustained influence.
I’m Muhammad Ubaid, founder of YBR Magazine. I research and write detailed guides on America’s National Parks — covering entry fees, permits, best times to visit, and planning tips — using official NPS sources and up-to-date information.
