Inside the Michigan Legacy of M Olivia Lagina: Family, Wine, and Philanthropy

Basic Information

The Name, The Person, The Presence

Say “Olivia Lagina” around Traverse City, and most locals picture the heartbeat of a family enterprise: an elegant vineyard perched on Old Mission Peninsula and a quiet but steady presence in community charities. The name sometimes appears in fuller form as “M. Olivia Lagina,” yet in public life she is almost always simply “Olivia.” She tends to the connective tissue—people, partnerships, place—more than the spotlight. Where her husband, Marty, brings engineer’s grit and on-camera energy, Olivia brings a steady compass, guiding the family’s wine estate and shaping philanthropic projects that outlast news cycles.

Her public footprint is purposeful rather than loud. You’ll find her name on the winery’s pages and on donor walls rather than in gossip columns. In an age of megaphones, she favors the workbench: building, refining, sustaining.

Building a Michigan Wine Legacy

Mari (often also referred to as Villa Mari) Vineyards took shape on Old Mission Peninsula in the late 1990s and early 2000s, a time when northern Michigan’s wine ambitions were still proving themselves. It’s a place anchored by lake winds and limestone, where vines need engineering as much as romance. That blend suits the Lagina family: the winery’s signature underground wine caves reflect a marriage of science and craft, keeping temperature and humidity stable while signaling a long view of quality.

Olivia’s role is woven through the vineyard’s fabric—hospitality decisions, community ties, and the kind of long-term stewardship that makes a regional winery more than a tasting room. The estate is a point of pride for locals and a destination for visitors, but it’s also a working symbol of how to build a legacy business in the North: patiently, precisely, and with a commitment to place. On a summer afternoon, you might catch a glimpse of the family in conversation with growers or guests; on a winter morning, the caves are humming while snow drapes the hills outside.

Philanthropy with Focus: The Children’s Advocacy Work

If Mari Vineyards shows how the family thinks about craft, the Traverse Bay Children’s Advocacy Center (TBCAC) shows how they think about community. Olivia served as a founding board member when the center was established in 2009, helping to shape a service that offers hope and care to children and families in crisis. In the following years, she and Marty deepened that commitment, first by providing space and then by donating the building that the center calls home, with support for renovations that made the facility fit its mission.

It’s the kind of gift that changes a map. In a region where services can be spread thin, a stable home for child advocacy is more than a line item—it’s a lighthouse in rough weather. Olivia’s influence is visible not just in brick and mortar, but in continuity: the stamina to keep a vital resource strong, year after year.

The Family at the Heart of It

• Marty Lagina: An engineer by training and a vintner by passion, Marty built a reputation in energy entrepreneurship before turning serious attention to wine and, later, television. His work on The Curse of Oak Island made the Lagina name familiar far beyond Michigan. Yet even as he splits time with production schedules, his roots remain in the peninsulas of Grand Traverse.
• Alex Lagina: Often seen alongside his father on screen, Alex is also part of the day-to-day life of the vineyard. He bridges two worlds—site logistics and storytelling—with a practical streak that fits the winery’s ethos.
• Madeline “Maddie” Lagina, MD, MPH: Maddie’s path runs through medicine, with a clinical and academic focus that underscores the family’s service-minded streak. It’s a different kind of frontline, anchored in research, patient care, and teaching, but it shares the same throughline: skill in service of others.

Together, the family shows how varied careers can reinforce a shared mission. Wine is craft, television is narrative, medicine is science; philanthropy knits them together.

A Timeline of Milestones

Community Threads Beyond the Tasting Room

Olivia’s and Marty’s names appear across donor lists for regional conservation and civic causes. That support maps onto the wider landscape of northern Michigan—land trusts, cultural programming, and local initiatives that make small cities feel expansive. The pattern is consistent: invest in institutions that last. It’s a curator’s mindset applied to community—preserve the character, strengthen the infrastructure, and create spaces that serve the next generation.

Her personal social media presence is minimal, which mirrors a preference for quiet impact. You’ll see her at events and in official photos, but the story is told more clearly in the structures that remain when the crowd goes home: a vineyard planted for decades, a center built for resilience.

The Craft of Continuity

What distinguishes Olivia’s public life is not a single splashy headline, but a continuous line of effort. At the vineyard, that means year-over-year consistency: pruning in February, bud break in May, harvest in October, the steady hum of the caves every day in between. In the community, it means serving on boards, stewarding buildings, and showing up without fanfare. Like great wine, reputations are blended and aged. Olivia’s blend is discipline, local loyalty, and understated grace.

FAQ

Who is M Olivia Lagina?

She is publicly known as Olivia Lagina, co-owner/partner of Mari (Villa Mari) Vineyards and a longstanding philanthropist in the Traverse City region.

Is she married to Marty Lagina?

Yes, she is the spouse/partner of Martin “Marty” Lagina, the engineer and vintner also known for The Curse of Oak Island.

What is her role at Mari/Villa Mari Vineyards?

She helps lead the family-owned estate, shaping hospitality, community relationships, and long-term stewardship of the winery.

What philanthropic work is she known for?

She is a founding board member of the Traverse Bay Children’s Advocacy Center and, with Marty, supported the center’s building and renovations.

Does she appear on The Curse of Oak Island?

She keeps a low on-camera profile; the family connection is primarily through Marty and their son, Alex.

Who are her children?

Alex Lagina, who works in family ventures and appears on television, and Madeline “Maddie” Lagina, MD, MPH, a physician and academic.

Where is she based?

Her public and professional life centers on the Traverse City area and Old Mission Peninsula in northern Michigan.

What is her net worth?

There is no authoritative public disclosure of her personal net worth.

Is “M. Olivia Lagina” her full legal name?

Public references vary, but she is most commonly identified simply as “Olivia Lagina” in official and community settings.