Estelle Getty
Estelle Getty, born July 25, 1924 in New York, New York, was 47 years old whe she made her first stage appearance. Her first movie role was in 1982's Tootsie. Other films include Mask, Mannequin, and the Sylvester Stallone movie Stop! or My Mom Will Shoot. She starred for 10 years, through 3 series (The Golden Girls, The Golden Palace, Empty Nest), as wisecracking Sophia Petrillo. After auditioning four times for the role of Sophia, Estelle was called in again for another reading. She hired a makeup artist to age her, went shopping in thrift shops looking for a worn polyester dress way too big for her, and a handbag. She went to the audition in her "costume," stayed in character the whole time, and landed the part, which later won her an Emmy. Estelle suffered from dementia in her later years and died in July 2008 at the age of 84.
Awards: 1988 Emmy for Oustanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series--The Golden Girls; 1986 Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actress in a TV Series-Comedy/Musical--The Golden Girls.
Filmography
Million
Dollar Kid, The (1999) .... Sister RosanneStuart Little (1999) .... Grandma Estelle Little
Sissy Duckling, The (1999) (TV) (voice) .... Schoolteacher
Match Made in Heaven, A (1997) (TV)
"Empty Nest" (1988) TV Series .... Sophia Petrillo (1993-1995)
"Golden Palace, The" (1992) TV Series .... Sophia Petrillo
Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot (1992) .... Tutti
Mannequin (1987) .... Claire Timkin
Copacabana (1985) (TV)
"Golden Girls, The" (1985) TV Series .... Sophia Petrillo
Mask (1985/I) .... Evelyn
No Man's Land (1984) (TV)
Victims for Victims: The Theresa Saldana Story (1984) (TV)
... aka Victims for Victims (1984) (TV)
Deadly Force (1983) .... Gussie
Tootsie (1982) .... Middle-Aged Woman
... aka Would I Lie to You? (1982) (USA: working title)
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