Estelle Getty is a multi-awarded American actress born on July 25, 1923 in New York City. She’s worked on both Broadway and television, and has won both an Emmy Award and a Golden Globe. Her numerous roles include appearances in Cagney & Lacey, Empty Nest, Touched by an Angel, Mad About You, and Stuart Little. During her career, she took care of her nephew Steven Scher, who suffered from AIDS during a time when neither treatment nor sympathy was readily available. By the mid-2000s, it was revealed that she herself suffers from Lewy Body Dementia, and has subsequently been watched over by her longtime friend Paul Chapdelaine and a full-time nursing staff.
Sophia Petrillo is portrayed by Estelle Getty on the classic NBC sitcom The Golden Girls. The mother of Dorothy, Sophia is a native of Sicily who moved to New York after getting married. Dorothy had her put away in the Shady Pines nursing home after Sophia suffered a stroke, but she comes to live with the group after the nursing home is partially damaged by a fire. It’s often hinted that Sophia’s family has Mafia connections, and that she actually did work for the Mob herself. She’s known for her brazen wisecracks and joking remarks, often at everyone else’s expense.
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