Find Out What Happened to the Cast of ‘The Golden Girls’ as Show Turns 40

Bea Arthur as Dorothy Zbornak

Arthur was already a Tony winner (for Mame) and Emmy winner (for Maude) when she signed on to The Golden Girls. Between her parts as Maude and Dorothy, Arthur received nine nominations total for outstanding lead actress in a comedy series, the third-most ever, after Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Mary Tyler Moore. She had 11 nominations in total and was inducted into the Television Academy’s Hall of Fame in 2008. 

She also made guest appearances on an episode of Futurama, Malcolm in the Middle and as Larry David’s mom in Curb Your Enthusiasm.

She starred in multiple one-woman shows, including 2002’s Bea Arthur on Broadway: Just Between Friends.

Arthur died in 2009 at age 86. Upon her death, she bequeathed $300,000 to the Ali Forney Center, a New York organization that provides housing for homeless LGBTQ+ youths. In 2017, they opened The Bea Arthur Residence.

Betty White as Rose Nylund

White’s Rose Nylund was the kind, if ditzy, member of the show’s quartet. She received seven Emmy nominations for her performance, winning once in 1986. White was always used to TV fame, having starred in The Mary Tyler Moore Show, which won her two Emmys in 1975 and 1976, respectively.

After The Golden Girls ended, White remained a television staple, with shows like Maybe This Time and Hot in Cleveland. She won two more Emmys for appearing on The John Larroquette Show and hosting Saturday Night Live. She also won a Grammy for the audiobook of her 2011 book If You Ask Me (And of Course You Won’t).

In 2009, she had a scene-stealing role in The Proposal, and she worked as a voice actress in The Lorax and Toy Story 4.

In January 2021, she told PEOPLE the secret to her happiness was her optimism. “I don’t like the other side,” she said. “The positive side is a lot more fun.” She also credited her sense of humor, adding, “Don’t take yourself too seriously. You can lie to others — not that I would — but you cannot lie to yourself.”

White died in December 2021, days before her 100th birthday.

Rue McClanahan as Blanche Devereaux

McClanahan told PEOPLE in 2009 that The Golden Girls’ success “was a damn piece of luck” and that she “thanks the powers that be every day.”

She was a four-time Emmy nominee for The Golden Girls, winning in 1987.  

After the show ended, she continued to work. She had guest roles on shows like Boy Meets World, Columbo, Touched by an Angel, Blue’s Clues and King of the Hill. She also appeared in 1997’s Starship Troopers and 2003’s The Fighting Temptations.

McClanahan returned to Broadway for the first time since 1997 in 2001 in The Women alongside Cynthia Nixon and Jennifer Coolidge. Then she starred as Madame Morrible in Wicked in 2005.

In 2007, she released her memoir, My First Five Husbands … and the Ones Who Got Away. In 1997, she married her sixth husband, Morrow Wilson. They separated in 2009. 

McClanahan died in 2010 at age 76. She is survived by her son, Mark Bish.

Estelle Getty as Sophia Petrillo

Though Getty’s Sophia was the oldest of the characters, in real life, she was just a year younger than her on-screen daughter, Arthur. She and the crew used wigs, clothing and heavy makeup to age her on the show. She won her Emmy for the series in 1988 and was nominated seven times for the show in total.

After the original series and The Golden Palace, Getty joined the final two seasons of The Golden Girls spin-off Empty Nest, which premiered in 1988. The other three Girls also reprised their roles as guest stars on the series. 

Getty appeared in movies like 1985’s Mask, 1987’s Mannequin and 1999’s Stuart Little. 

Getty retired from acting in 2001 due to her health, and she died in 2008 at 84 years old from Lewy body dementia. Her husband, Arthur Gettleman, whom she wed in 1947, died four years earlier. They shared two children, Carl and Barry.

Herb Edelman as Stanley “Stan” Zbornak

Edelman played Dorothy’s ex-husband, Stan, on The Golden Girls. At the time, he was known for roles in 1968’s The Odd Couple, 1978’s California Suite and 1973’s The Way We Were. He received two Emmy nominations for outstanding guest actor in a comedy series for his role as Stan.

During the ‘80s, he had recurring roles on St. Elsewhere and Murder, She Wrote, also appearing as a guest star on series like Beauty and the Beast, The Fall Guy, Knots Landing and L.A. Law. 

Edelman died of emphysema in 1996 at age 62. He was survived by his children, Briana and Jacy, whom he shared with ex-wife Louise Sorel.

When he died, Arthur told PEOPLE, “Let me tell you, he was one hell of an actor. He was quite an intellectual, quite a thinker, which is hard to reconcile with the parts he played. He was a very deep human being.” 

Harold Gould as Miles Webber

Gould played Miles Webber, Rose’s professor boyfriend, from season 5 onward. He had previously appeared as Martin Morgenstern on Rhoda and in the 1973 Oscar-winner The Sting. He was a five-time Emmy nominee. 

Later TV roles for Gould included Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, Touched by an Angel, Felicity, Judging Amy and Nip/Tuck. In 2003, he played Lindsay Lohan’s grandfather in Freaky Friday.

Gould died in 2010 at 86. He was survived by his wife, Lea Shampanier-Vernon, whom he married in 1950 after they met at Cornell University. They had three children: Joshua, Lowell and Deborah.

Sid Melton as Salvadore “Sal” Petrillo

Melton appeared as Salvadore Petrillo, the long-dead husband of Sophia and father of Dorothy, in flashback scenes in several episodes of The Golden Girls. Two of his bigger roles were on Green Acres and The Danny Thomas Show, but he worked widely across film and TV.

Post-Golden Girls, Melton appeared on episodes of Living Single, Nurses, Blossom, The John Larroquette Show and Blossom. He also appeared a handful of times on Empty Nest.

Melton died in 2011 at 94.