Sophia Petrillo is the sassiest grandma you will ever meet. She always has a comeback or an insult burning on the tip of her tongue, just waiting to be fired at its next unsuspecting victim. Fans never knew what the Sicilian 80 year old would say next and they loved her for it.
Sophia cracked fans up with her quick wit and wise advice that was often disguised in one of her colorful stories. Fans learned a lot from and about Sophia over the course of the Golden Girls’ seven seasons. Sophia had her secrets though such as how exactly her family was connected with the mob. Here are 10 things even diehard fans didn’t know about Sophia Petrillo.
Younger Than Dorothy
Dorothy and Sophia were everyone’s favorite mother and daughter pair as they admired the love they had for one another and the way they could easily fire off insults at each other. While Bea Arthur, the actress who plays Dorothy, and Estelle Getty, the actress who portrayed Sophia, were believable as mother and daughter, in reality, their age difference would make this impossible.
Bea Arthur is actually a year older than her television mother as Bea was born in May of 1922 and Estelle didn’t come into the world until July of 1923. That didn’t stop them though from becoming the dynamic mother and daughter duo that they were.
Was Not Supposed To Be Regular
Sophia was a fan favorite and imaging an episode without one of her snarky comments is hard to do. But this was almost reality. Originally Sophia was only supposed to be a guest star that popped in every once in a while. The character got such high ratings with the test audience though, that the producers decided to make her a permanent staple.
Even though Sophia was only meant to be an occasional drop-in character, Estelle Getty ended up being the Golden Girl who earned the most fan mail. It just wouldn’t be the Golden Girls without one of Sophia’s shocking remarks.
Wanted the Character to be Jewish
Estelle Getty was fabulous at playing the strict Catholic old-world Sicilian mother and grandmother. Even though Estelle was perfect for the role, she tried to convince the creators to make Sophia Jewish. Estelle herself was Jewish as she was born into a Jewish immigrant family from Poland.
Estelle felt it would make it easier for her to play the part considering she was the least experienced. The creators of the series decided to keep Sophia as an Italian mother, and Estelle concurred her fears to become the best Sophia there could be.
Severe Stage Fright
Estelle Getty was the least experienced out of her castmates which often intimated her. Estelle had never had a television role until the Golden Girls, unlike her three co-stars. She was more known in the theater circuit but eventually, one thing lead to another and she landed her break as Sophia when she was 62 years old.
Her intimidation and stage fright caused her to freeze up and forget her lines which made her have to use cue cards and script pages taped to the kitchen table. The fact that Estelle triumphed over her fears to become the saucy Sophia made fans admire her even more.
Was Married Three Times
Generally when Sophia is giving the other women love advice she tells stories about either her long-time husband Salvador or her many romantic adventures as a young Sicilian girl - picture it, Sicily 1922. Estelle often leaves out the part about how she has been married three times.
Sophia was married to Salvador, but before there was Sal, there was Guido Spirelli. Sophia’s marriage to Guido was annulled shortly after the couple tied the knot and Sophia set sail for New York. After Sal passed away, Sophia was single for many years until Max Weinstock came back into her life in season 4. The couple decided to split but they never divorced thanks to Sophia’s strict Catholic beliefs.
Took 45 Minutes for Estelle to Become Sophia
Estelle Getty was about 20 years younger than her character, Sophia, and she didn’t look older than her age either. This created quite the conundrum for the makeup department. They had to age the star by 20 years and that is no easy task.
It took the makeup department 45 minutes to get Estelle into character. Can you imagine spending 45 minutes on just your makeup routine in the morning? You’d be late for work everyday. This task became even more challenging after Estelle got a facelift in between season 1 and 2. The makeup department deserves an award for that miracle.
Her Signature Purse
When fans think of Sophia her signature straw purse may come to mind as fans rarely see Sophia without her purse. Many fans would probably assume the costume designers discovered the infamous purse, but it was actually Estelle herself who stumbled upon what would become her signature handbag.
Estelle was dead set on becoming Sophia, so she took it upon herself to not only have a makeup artist make her look older for her audition, but she also looked for props to help give her a leg up. She found the bag while she was out shopping for props for her audition in Los Angeles. Apparently the producers not only loved her, but also her hand bag.
Had Three Children
Fans are obviously aware that Sophia is a mother as she lives with her daughter, Dorothy in Miami. But Dorothy is not Sophia’s only child. Sophia is actually a mother of three as she has two daughters and one son who dressed more like a daughter.
Phil and Gloria are not talked about often or seen much on the Golden Girls, but Sophia loves them nonetheless as she is often comparing Dorothy to her other two children. Gloria is the youngest sister who lived in California with her rich husband and Phil, the baby brother, lived in New Jersey with his wife and kids until his untimely death in season 6.
One of Five Children
Sophia only had three children and that’s probably because she knew how crowded things could be with more kids in the house as she was one of five children. She had to move all the way to New York just to get some space.
Sophia had two sisters, Angela and Regina, and two brothers Angelo and the other one was never named. Sophia had her disagreements with her siblings over the years, but if there is one that is important to Sophia Petrillo, it’s family. She and her siblings always found a way to make up with each other and prove that nothing is more important than the love of a family.
Won an Emmy Award for Her Role
The Golden Girls would not be the same without Sophia and her hilarious comebacks and no one could have been a better Sophia than Estelle Getty. She proved, even though she had the least amount of experience on set, that she was just as talented as her co-stars.
That talent earned her the Emmy award for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series in 1988. She was beaming as she walked on stage and humbly accepted her esteemed award. No one seemed happier for her than her television daughter, Bea Arthur. Estelle had fans cheering as she thanked the creators and writers of the show and her three beautiful co-stars.
