![]() ![]() On 22 February 2009, McMahon was seriously injured after slipping on the stairs of a luxury pleasure boat owned by her friend, Paul Ramsay. She became a board member and patron of many charities, 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. ![]() She became a widow in 1988, and in the ensuing years she continued her philanthropic activities. William McMahon was knighted in 1977, and she became Lady McMahon, although often still referred to as simply Sonia McMahon. But I knew I had to make a decision, and I chose to be with my husband." I loved being with Bill and I loved being a mum. In an interview with her biographer, Sonia McMahon said: "It was a hard decision. As a prime ministerial spouse from March 1971 to December 1972, Sonia McMahon organised for a nanny to look after the children at the family home in the Sydney suburb of Bellevue Hill, while she lived with her husband at The Lodge, Canberra, attending official duties. Their third child, Deborah, was born in 1972, during McMahon's term as prime minister. Their first two children (Melinda and Julian) were born before he became prime minister. In later years (then Lady McMahon) she spoke to her biographer, commenting that her husband chose the dress and that it had "certainly made an impact". The Washington Post described the dress as one of the most talked about items of clothing ever to be worn to the White House. The white full-length dress featured see-through slits down both sides. Later that year, Sonia 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. ![]() Sonia Hopkins worked as an occupational therapist until 1965 when she married William (better known as Billy) McMahon, an aspiring politician in Sir Robert Menzies' government. ![]()
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June 2023
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