Estelle Getty Biography
Estelle Getty began her acting career in 1978 with
Team-Mates. She also had short roles in two critically acclaimed classics,
Tootsie and
Mask. In 1985, Estelle began acting in
The Golden Girls, with
Beatrice Arthur,
Betty White, and
Rue McClanahan. The successful show won two Emmys for outstanding television series, and Estelle herself won an Emmy in 1988. Among other things she's done in TV is playing Sophia Petrillo in shows several times,
The Golden Palace and
Empty Nest among them. Most recently, Estelle has been in the family film
Stuart Little and playing
Hollywood Squares.
Trivia

Getty played mother to Bea Arthur on
The Golden Girls, however, Bea is actually 2 1/2 months older than Estelle. Estelle being born July 25, 1923 and Bea was born May 13, 1923.

Getty's career actually began when she was much younger on the 'borscht belt' circuit and Yiddish stage, but she gave it up to raise a family. She returned to acting much later and became a hit on Broadway as
Harvey Fierstein's meddling mom in "Torch Song Trilogy". It was the L.A. tour of this show that led to her being cast in
The Golden Girls and at age 62 she became an "overnight" TV star.

Retired in 2000 after revealing she had Parkinson's disease.

Played the same character, Sophia Spirelli Petrillo-Weinstock, on five different TV series:
The Golden Palace,
The Golden Girls,
Nurses,
Empty Nest, and
Blossom.

Was a strong supporter of Gay rights.

During a brief reunion in November 2004 with
The Golden Girls's
Betty White,
Rue McClanahan, and
Beatrice Arthur, it was reported on TV by the ladies that Estelle was suffering from severe dementia.
Source provided by imdb (Copyright) - The Internet Movie Database.