Franne Lee

US American and Tony Award-winning costume and set designer. Born on Dec. 30, 1941 in the Bronx, New York, USA. Died on Aug. 27, 2023 in Atlantis, Florida, USA. Franne Lee was a versatile and award-winning costume and set designer who worked on Broadway, television and film. Born in the Bronx in 1941, she studied painting at the University of Wisconsin before discovering her passion for theater. She moved to New York in 1967 and met Eugene Lee, a fellow designer with whom she collaborated on many projects, including the acclaimed 1973 revival of “Candide” that earned them both Tony Awards. She also won Tonys for her costumes for “Sweeney Todd” in 1979 and “The Mystery of Edwin Drood” in 1986. In the mid-1970s, Ms. Lee was hired by Lorne Michaels to design costumes and sets for the new late-night show “Saturday Night Live”. She created iconic looks for characters such as the Blues Brothers, the Killer Bees and the Coneheads. She also influenced fashion trends with her style choices for Mr. Michaels and others. Ms. Lee continued to design costumes for shows in New York in the 1980s and ’90s, as well as some television and film projects in Los Angeles. In 2001 she settled in Nashville, where she was involved in founding Plowhaus, a gallery and artists’ cooperative. She later lived in Wisconsin, and since 2017 she had lived in Lake Worth Beach, Fla., designing costumes for theaters in that area.