Lady Sonia McMahon dies in Sydney, Australia at 77

April 3, 2010

Lady Sonia McMahon has died in a Sydney, Australia hospital. A statement from St. Vincent's Private Hospital reported that McMahon died late on Friday with her family.

McMahon was born in August 1932, and was the wife of former Australian Prime Minister Sir William McMahon. Sonia was also a Sydney socialite. McMahon made world headlines after being photographed at the White House wearing a revealing dress in the company of her husband and United States president Richard Nixon, in 1971. McMahon had three children: Melinda, Debra, and Julian; Julian is a noted actor in the United States. She became Lady after Billy McMahon was knighted in 1977. She became a board member and patron of many charities after Billy's death in 1988, including the National Brain Foundation, the Sydney Children’s Hospital Foundation, the Australian Cancer Research Foundation, the Microsearch Foundation and Australia’s Sudden Infant Death Syndrome association.

Sonia McMahon was seriously injured in a fall last year. At the time of her death she reportedly had been fighting cancer for over a year.