Tova Borgnine facts for kids

Tova Traesnaes Borgnine, born Tove Træsnæs on November 17, 1941, was a successful businesswoman. She created her own beauty company called Beauty by Tova cosmetics. She was also married to the famous Hollywood actor Ernest Borgnine. Tova passed away on February 26, 2022.

Tova's Early Life and Moves

Tova was born in Oslo, Norway. Her father was an artist who designed graphics, and her mother worked as a translator at the U.S. Embassy. When Tova was about 8 years old, her parents separated. She then moved to the United States with her mother. At that time, she did not speak English.

Starting a Beauty Business

Tova first studied acting in Manhattan, a part of New York City. However, she found that she really loved applying makeup. In 1965, she married a businessman from New Jersey. After their marriage, she decided to open her own makeup center.

When her first marriage ended, Tova moved her business to Las Vegas. She wanted to be closer to her mother there.

The Cactus Cream Discovery

In 1975, while in Las Vegas, Tova learned about a special face cream. This cream was made from a cactus plant, using a secret formula from a Mexican family. Tova was very interested and bought the rights to sell this cream all over the world.

By 1977, her company, which was then called Tova9, was earning about $500,000. Just a few years later, by 1981, her company's earnings grew to nearly $2 million! In 1984, she even wrote a book called The Tova Difference: A Promise of Lasting Beauty. She wrote it with Elaine Trebek.

Creating Tova Signature Perfume

Tova also created her own perfume, called Tova Signature. This perfume has been made since 1983. It became very popular and started being sold on QVC in 1990. QVC is a TV shopping channel where people can buy products.

By 1984, Tova's company had 47 employees working in her offices in Beverly Hills, California. She also had a factory in nearby Arcadia. By 1987, her company offered 65 different skincare products and had 80 employees.

Success with QVC

QVC reported that by 2001, Tova's perfumes made her "a steady presence" on their channel. She was also their biggest seller of fragrances. In 2002, QVC bought the Tova brand for a large amount of money. By 2008, Tova Signature was the best-selling perfume on QVC.

Tova received several awards for her work in the fragrance industry. In 1998, she won the FiFi Award for Women's Fragrance Star of the Year. Her perfume, Tova Signature, was also nominated for the Fragrance Hall of Fame FiFi Award in 2008. In June 2009, she received the Retailer of the Year award from the Fragrance Foundation. This award recognized her smart ways of selling products directly to customers and her long career in the perfume business.

Tova's Personal Life

Tova was married two times. Her first husband was Louis A. Littleton. They were married for seven years, and their marriage ended in 1972. Tova had one son before her second marriage.

On February 24, 1973, she married the famous actor Ernest Borgnine. He was a well-known Hollywood star. Their marriage lasted for 39 years, until Ernest Borgnine passed away in 2012 at the age of 95.

Tova also wrote another book called Being Married Happily Forever, which was published in 1997. Tova Borgnine died at her home in Pennsylvania on February 26, 2022. She was 80 years old.