Bob Mackie, Legendary Costume Designer, Dead at 87
Bob Mackie, Legendary Costume Designer, Dead at 87
Victoria EdelMon, September 14, 2026 at 3:49 PM UTC
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Bob Mackie in 2010Credit: Harry Langdon/Getty Images -
Bob Mackie has died at age 87
Mackie was a legendary costume designer known for his iconic collaborations with Cher and other Hollywood stars
He won nine Emmys, a Tony, and was a three-time Oscar nominee for his groundbreaking work in entertainment
Bob Mackie has died at the age of 87.
In a post shared on Mackie’s Instagram page, his team wrote, “It is with a heavy heart that we share the news that Mr. Bob Mackie passed away today. He lived his 87 years to the fullest, fulfilling his dream of being a Fashion and Costume Designer, which is all he ever wanted to do. His genius and extraordinary designs will live on forever, continuing to bring beauty into this world.”
Mackie was perhaps Hollywood’s most famous costume designer, best known for his collaborations with Cher over the years. He worked with dozens of stars, including Carol Burnett, Tina Turner, Barbra Streisand, Diana Ross, Liza Minnelli, Ann-Margret and Bette Midler.
Mackie was born in 1939 in the suburbs of Los Angeles. “I always knew what I wanted to do,” he told PEOPLE in 2021. “But I knew I was in trouble when my parents gave me a catcher’s mitt for Christmas. Then my good aunt gave me a jewelry-making kit. I made a few pairs of earrings, and that was that.”
Cher and Bob Mackie at the Met Gala in 1985Credit: Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images
Mackie’s parents separated when he was 2, and he was raised primarily by his grandparents, who nurtured his love of art. But it was at the movies where he found his inspiration. “I sat in the theater totally mesmerized watching Betty Grable, Rita Hayworth,” he remembered in a 1994 conversation with PEOPLE. “Then I went home and drew what I’d seen.’’
Mackie’s sketching skills got him a job in the entertainment business making drawings for costume designers. But his big break came when actress and singer Mitzi Gaynor hired him to create costumes for her Las Vegas Revue. He would later design costumes for her TV specials and won Emmys for her 1976 and 1978 shows.
One of Mackie’s first high-profile gigs was as the costumer for The Carol Burnett Show, which ran from 1967 to 1978. “He was the best,” Burnett told PEOPLE in 2010. “He designed 50 costumes a week for our show.” Mackie called it “the perfect show” in a 2019 interview with WWD.
Bob Mackie with models wearing his designs in 1987Credit: Fairchild Archive/Penske Media via Getty Images
Mackie first met Cher on the set of that series, and he soon began designing for the singer, later becoming the costumer for The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour, which premiered in 1971.
Mackie’s collaborations with Cher became legendary and changed the face of fashion. “Nobody was allowed to even design a halter dress until Cher started wearing them on Sonny & Cher [in the ‘70s], and then all of a sudden they were in everybody’s collection,” Mackie told PEOPLE. “And then girls were showing way more skin than they should have, because Cher was showing more skin than she should have. But she looked good in it.”
Part of the key to pulling off the jaw-dropping dresses he made for the “If I Could Turn Back Time” singer, he explained, was having “wit.”
“I think also you can’t be intimidated,” he said. “If you’re intimidated by what you’re wearing, you’re not gonna pull it off at all and you’re not going to be successful.”
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Bob Mackie during his fashion show in 1986Credit: PL Gould/Images/Getty Images
In 1986, Cher demonstrated what he meant by boldly wearing one of the wildest dresses he ever made for her to that year’s Oscars. Equal parts skin-baring, sequined and over-the-top, the singer’s look was completed with a giant feather headpiece. Mackie had actually been opposed to her wearing it at the time.
“I’m always the conservative one. At first I told her, ‘You can’t dress like that to give somebody an award, you’ll pull all the focus from them,’” he told PEOPLE in 2019. “And she said, ‘Oh, they won’t mind.’ Then there she is, and she’s on the cover of every newspaper all across the country. She knows what she’s doing.”
Bob Mackie and Diana RossCredit: Jim Spellman/WireImage
“Critics said, ‘Well, that’s not fashion,’” he remembered. “Well, it wasn’t meant to be fashion. She wanted to do it just because it was fun.”
Though Mackie did dip his toes into ready-to-wear and couture collections, it didn’t creatively fulfill him. ‘’I’ve never been one of those people for whom fashion was my religion,’’ he told PEOPLE in 1994. ‘’I love dressing people, but just making clothes for people to wear is so heartless. It’s more fun to create a character or a look for a show — to do something that’s emotionally fulfilling for the audience and the performer. That’s where my heart is.’’
Carol Burnett, Bob Mackie and Ann-Margret in Beverly Hills in 2024Credit: Stewart Cook/Getty Images
Mackie was a 32-time Emmy nominee and nine-time winner, taking home trophies for his work with Cher, Burnett and Diana Ross. In 2002, he was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame. He was a three-time Oscar nominee for his work on the movies Lady Sings the Blues, Funny Lady and Pennies From Heaven.
Mackie, who also designed costumes for Broadway and national musical tours, received his only Tony nomination and win for his work on 2018’s The Cher Show, a jukebox musical about Cher’s life. He created over 450 outfits for the show — which also featured a fictionalized version of Mackie, who hosts a fashion show in a show-stopping number. “In that moment, they are singing, and dancing and carrying on, and the audience loves it,” he told AnOther Magazine in 2018. “And I love that part of it, because they are basically clapping for what I do, you know.”
Mackie’s one-of-a-kind style remained a celebrity favorite for decades, with Zendaya, Miley Cyrus, Anya Taylor-Joy and many more diving into his archives for red carpet and performance outfits. “Sometimes it makes me feel very old,” Mackie joked with Vogue in 2024.
Bob Mackie at the V&A Summer Party in London in 2023Credit: Dave Benett/Getty Images
In 1960, Mackie married LuLu Porter, and shortly after, they welcomed a son together, Robin. They divorced in 1963. Robin struggled with drug addiction, but was diagnosed with AIDS after getting sober. He died from an AIDS-related illness in 1993.
“It was very difficult to see this person you have so much hope for finally come out of one problem, then go into another,’’ Mackie told PEOPLE in 1994. “As a parent, you only want the best. And when it’s not like that, you just wish you could trade places.”
Bob Mackie in 2019Credit: Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images
In 1963, Mackie began a relationship with Ray Aghayan, a fellow customer he first worked with on The Judy Garland Show. They were together until Aghayan’s death in 2011.
“I think I’m the oldest living designer in Hollywood,” he told The Guardian in 2018, amid his work on The Cher Show and a new Cher tour. When asked if he’d ever retire, he said, “I hope not.”
on People
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
