Estelle Getty was best known for her role as Sophia Petrillo on The Golden Girls from 1985 to 1992, which won her an Emmy and a Golden Globe, on The Golden Palace from 1992 to 1993 and on Empty Nest from 1993 to 1995.
Getty got her start in the Yiddish theater and also as a comedienne in the Catskills borscht belt resorts, and among her most notable stage roles was as Harvey Fierstein’s mother in Torch Song Trilogy during its original Broadway run.
Getty won an Emmy Award in 1988 for Outstanding Supporting Actress.
Getty wrote an autobiography with Steve Delsohn entitled If I Knew Then, What I Know Now… So What? (Contemporary Books, 1988).
Estelle Getty died on July 22, 2008 in her Hollywood Boulevard home in Los Angeles three days before her 85th birthday.