Estelle Getty is best known as the feisty, irreverent and intractable Sophia Petrillo, a role she originated on The Golden Girls, then brought to Golden Palace and Empty Nest.

"I know this lady I played," Getty says, "She's partly me and partly my imagination, but she's an original and that's what I've been playing all my life, original characters."  Getty is an original character herself.  Born and raised in New York City, she was trained for the New York stage by the Herbert Berghof Studios and Gerald Russak.  After a long stage career Getty blossomed into national prominence with her much heralded role in Broadway's Tony Award-winning Torch Song Trilogy.  Her portrayal of the inimitable Mrs. Beckoff won her the first ever Helen Hayes Award as Best Supporting Performer.  

When the show arrived in Los Angeles, Hollywood discovered Estelle Getty.  In her first six months in Los Angeles while performing the play at night, Ms. Getty also shot the NBC pilot No Man's Land in which she starred with Stella Stevens, Mask as Cher's mother, and Copacabana as Barry Manilow's mother.  (Estelle often jokes she has played everyone's mother except Atilla the Hun's.)  Since then she has also played Sylvester Stallones mother in Stop, Or My Mom Will Shoot.  

During The Golden Girls first season on the air, Ms. Getty won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Comedy Series.  She is also a seven time Emmy Award nominee who receiving the Best Supporting Actress Award in 1988.  In 1991 and 1992 Estelle won the American Comedy Award for Best Supporting Actress in a series.

Ms. Getty shares with her character Sophia a forthrightness that has made her a spokesperson for many AIDS-related charities.  She has also become the preeminent voice in this country for the ever-growing senior citizen population and works with such non-profit organizations as Alternative Living for the Aging which organizes cooperative housing for seniors.  She has also worked for animal related charities such as PETA, Guiding Eyes For The Blind, and PAWS.

Estelle has opinions on everything, a few years ago she collected her thoughts and wrote a book.  If I Knew Then What I Know Now...So What? was published by Contemporary Books.

Because Estelle believes it's never too late to get into shape she created with her trainer, Raphael Picaud, an exercise video Young At Heart: Body Conditioning With Estelle.  She hopes it will inspire all those over 55 to work out and have some fun.