On Sunday, September 14, viewers and fans of “The Golden Girls” will get to see what the 2025 Emmy Awards have in store for the beloved show’s 40th anniversary. Reba McEntire posted a photo revealing that she and Little Big Town’s Karen Fairchild and Kimberly Schlapman are performing the theme song. Any other plans will be unveiled during the show.
While people of all ages adore many older shows, there’s something about “The Golden Girls” that has stood the test of time. Maybe it’s the bawdy humor, or the fun of seeing George Clooney at 26. But most likely, it’s the authentic-feeling friendship between the characters. Read on to learn more about Blanche, Rose, Dorothy, and her mother, Sophia, and the actresses who portrayed them.
Blanche Devereaux
The character of Blanche Devereaux was played by Rue McClanahan, who won an Emmy Award for her portrayal of the Southern belle. She owned the house that the four lived in, and occasionally threatened to raise her housemate’s rent to get her way. But overall, she was friends with her three tenants, and even added them as co-owners of the house in Season 7.
Steve Fontanini/Los Angeles Times via Getty ImagesBlanche was extremely self-confident and always seeking a new romantic partner. She was also incredibly vain about her looks, which Sophia constantly ribbed her about. Rue loved the role of Blanche, but told the Television Academy Foundation that initially, they wanted her for Rose. It was only after the director Jay Sandrich asked her to read for Blanche instead that they began considering her for the part. But Rue said that she knew the show was going to resonate with viewers from the beginning.
“There was something about the script, the handwriting, the kind of writing that they chose, not the script that you’re reading,” she said. “And I said, ‘This is going to be a hit.'”
Mario Tama/Getty ImagesAfter the show ended, she had roles in 1997’s “Starship Troopers” as well as guest parts in “Boy Meets World,” “Blue’s Clues,” “King of the Hill,” and others. She also played Madame Morrible on Broadway in 2005’s “Wicked.” She released her memoir, “My First Five Husbands… and the Ones Who Got Away,” in 2007. In 2010, Rue passed away after suffering a stroke.
Dorothy Zbornak
Beatrice “Bea” Arthur turned down the role of Dorothy Zbornak several times before accepting the part. Before “The Golden Girls,” she played the role of outspoken Maude Findlay in “All in the Family” and “Maude.” When she heard that Rue was playing Rose and White was playing Blanche, she felt the three were recreating past characters. It was only after Rue called to inform her that she and White switched roles that she finally read the script.
“They sent me a script and I thought it was brilliant,” she told the Television Academy Foundation. “I thought it was one of the funniest, most adult, hilarious, sophisticated, terrific, delicious things I’d ever read.”
Vinnie Zuffante/Getty ImagesDorothy was the deadpan, sarcastic, witty, and compassionate member of the group. While she rolled her eyes a lot at the antics of her housemates, she ultimately loved them and was very protective of them.
Carlo Allegri/Getty Images“The Golden Girls” ended after seven seasons when Bea opted to leave the show. She appeared in several shows, such as “Malcolm in the Middle” and “Curb Your Enthusiasm.” She also starred in her own Broadway show called “Bea Arthur on Broadway: Just Between Friends.” She died of lung cancer in 2009.
Sophia Petrillo
Estelle Getty played Dorothy’s mother, Sophia Petrillo, and the oldest member of “The Golden Girls,” but she was actually a year younger than Bea Arthur. Clothing, wigs, and makeup were used to make the 62-year-old look much older. Estelle won an Emmy Award for her role in 1988.
Vinnie Zuffante/Getty ImagesAfter the nursing home she was in caught fire, she moved in with Dorothy at Blanche’s house. Sophia wasn’t much different than her daughter: blunt, outspoken, and unfiltered. Originally from Sicily, she moved to New York as a teenager. She was superstitious and often threatened to put a Sicilian curse on others, even her own daughter.
According to Bea, Estelle “couldn’t retain lines,” which was later attributed partially to dementia. “We had to use cue cards for her; she couldn’t handle it,” Bea told the Television Academy Foundation.
Estelle was the only one of the four who joined the cast of both spin-offs, “The Golden Palace” and “Empty Nest.” She also appeared in several films and series, but is best known for starring as Sylvester Stallone’s mother in “Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot.” Her last film appearance was in 1999’s “Stuart Little.” She died from complications of Lewy body dementia in 2008.
Vinnie Zuffante/Getty ImagesRose Nylund
Television veteran Betty White already had two Emmy Awards for her portrayal of Sue Ann Nivens in “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” by the time she joined “The Golden Girls.” While initially expected to portray man-crazy Blanche, her portrayal of Rose earned her an Emmy award in 1986 and seven nominations. Everyone adored the ditzy but kind airhead, Rose.
Vinnie Zuffante/Getty ImagesBetty’s relationship with Bea seemed to be unpredictable, with producer Marsha Posner Williams talking about their icy relationship at a recent 40th anniversary celebration.
“When that red light was on [and the show was filming], there were no more professional people than those women,” she told the audience (via The Hollywood Reporter). “But when the red light was off, those two couldn’t warm up to each other if they were cremated together.”
On the other hand, Betty mentioned in her autobiography that the two ate lunch together every day, and Rue recalled to the Television Academy Foundation that “She [Bea] wouldn’t go to lunch unless Betty would go with her.”
ROBYN BECK/AFP via Getty ImagesAfter the show ended, Betty kept working and had a career resurgence in her later years. She starred alongside Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds in 2009’s “The Proposal,” as well as in series such as “Hot in Cleveland” and “Saturday Night Live,” and in animated films like “The Lorax” and “Toy Story 4.” She died in 2021 at the age of 99, six days after suffering from a stroke. She was just two weeks from her 100th birthday.
