Sophia Petrillo

Sophia Petrillo
First appearance	"The Engagement"The Golden Girls) September 14, 1985
Last appearance	"Remembrance of Clips Past" (Empty Nest) June 17, 1995
Portrayed by	Estelle Getty
Information
Occupation	Co-Owner of The Golden Palace/ Assistant Chef
Family	Don Angelo Grisanti (father) Eleanor Bagatelli (mother) Angelo Grisanti (brother) Angela Grisanti Vecchio (sister)
Spouse(s)	Guido Spirelli (1st husband, annulled) Salvatore Petrillo (2nd husband, widowed) Max Weinstock (married/separated)
Children	Dorothy Zbornak Hollingsworth Phil Petrillo (deceased) Gloria Petrillo Mayston
Relatives	Stanley Zbornak, ex son-in-law Lucas Hollingsworth, son-in-law Carmine Vecchio (brother-in-law; deceased) Kate Zbnornak (granddaughter) Michael Zbnornak (grandson) Robby Zbnornak (great-grandson)
Religion	Roman Catholic

Sophia Petrillo (née Grisanti, formerly Spirelli) is a fictional character from the TV series The Golden Girls, and its spin-offs The Golden Palace and Empty Nest. She was portrayed by Estelle Getty for 10 years and 258 episodes and was arguably the breakout character of the show. Bea Arthur, who played her daughter Dorothy Zbornak on the show, was in real life a year older than Getty.

Early history

Sophia Grisanti was born in April 1906 in Sicily to her parents, Eleanor and Don. She had a sister Angela, a brother Angelo, and she mentioned she had another brother, but he was unnamed and only spoken of a few times. It is revealed that her 50th birthday was in April 1956 in one episode and in the first episode of The Golden Palace (1992) it was revealed that Sophia was 87. However in several episodes, she is revealed to be between the ages of 80 and 85. In her many flashbacks to life in Sicily, she frequently places her herself as being a young woman (having romantic affairs) in dates between 1914 and 1920 - this may be due to either continuity errors or dramatic license on the part of Sophia.

While in Sicily, as a teenager she was briefly engaged to a young man from her village Augustine Bagatelli, she also claims that she was once engaged to her brother . Later, she became engaged to Giuseppe Mangiacavallo, who jilted her at the altar. She moved to New York after she annulled her arranged first marriage to Guido Spirelli when she was fourteen. She has no accent left to show that she grew up speaking the Sicilian language. Instead, she sports a thick Brooklyn accent with a fast speaking pace, which often contributed to the humor in her one-liners.

Sophia Spirelli then married Salvatore "Sal" Petrillo (played by Sid Melton in flashback), and had three children with him: Dorothy, a divorced substitute teacher; Phil, (an unseen character) a cross-dresser with a wife named Angela, a welder, and several children in a trailer park in Newark, New Jersey who later died during the series; and Gloria (played by Doris Belack and Dena Dietrich), who lived in California and married into money and who later lost the fortune that her husband had left her in an investment scam.

1985-1995

In her older years, Sophia suffered a stroke (the effects of which are said to be a partial explanation for Sophia's blunt, uncensored, and brazen remarks) and was subsequently placed in Shady Pines retirement home by Dorothy. After Shady Pines was damaged in a fire, Sophia moved in with Dorothy. Sophia did not have many good things to say about "the home", alluding to poor treatment by the staff many times, and Dorothy often threatened to send her back there to check Sophia's behavior.

While living in Miami, Sophia had many suitors but does not date any for a substantial amount of time. She did remarry once more though to Max Weinstock (Jack Gilford). Max was her late husband's long-time business partner whom Sophia had long blamed for ruining the business, although it was later revealed Sal was responsible. Sophia and Max forgave each other after the latter reveals the truth, and the two quickly became close and got married. The newlyweds realize their romance would not work out, and they part ways as friends. However, both remained legally married, as divorce would have gone against her Catholic beliefs.

Due to Sophia's Sicilian descent, there were regular hints in the series that she and her family have some mafia connections; she has made reference to several vendettas. It is even hinted that Sophia herself has done mob work; she once stated that no one in her family had "ever left a body to be found". Sophia also claimed to have been present at the 1929 St. Valentines Day Massacre (at which time she would have been 23), to which she then took back stating, "Oh yeah, I was at the movies that day. All day."

Sophia believed strongly in ancient Sicilian custom and traditions, and in the power of a "Sicilian curse." The list of people she claims to have cast curses on include: Shelley Long, the Baltimore Colts, the New York Jets, Giuseppe Mangiacavallo (the boy who stood her up at the altar), and Leonard Barton (the girls' next door neighbor who expressed disdain for Italians, played by Gordon Jump). She has threatened to cast a curse on Dorothy (before she found that it was prohibited by another arcane custom), and on Stan Zbornak. In the final season, Sophia spent two episodes doing odd tasks in order to save Dorothy from an ancient curse from a Sicilian strega, or witch.

Relationships

Sophia is best known for her wisecracks, put-downs and brazen remarks, often commenting on Dorothy's lack of love life, Blanche's promiscuity, and Rose's cluelessness. However, despite her sharp criticism of her daughter and roommates, she loves and cares for them deeply; she even sees Rose and Blanche as surrogate daughters. The other women usually seek Sophia out for advice, which Sophia is all too willing to share, usually beginning with her catchphrase, "Picture it…" Like Rose's tall tales, Sophia's parables often end with a moral, from which advice can be gleaned. These stories usually also involved historical figures, with Sophia claiming to have had trysts with Pablo Picasso, Sigmund Freud, and Winston Churchill, amongst others. She also claims to have befriended many famous people including Golda Meir, Mama Celeste, and accidentally claimed that Robert Frost was always nibbling at her nose (she was confused with Jack Frost).

Members of Sophia's family who have appeared on the program include: Her sister, Angela (Nancy Walker); her brother, Angelo and her father (both roles were played by Bill Dana); her daughter, Gloria; her husband, Sal (in flashbacks and in dream sequences); and Sophia's own mother, Eleanor (Bea Arthur in a dual role who also didn't have a Sicilian accent), who also appeared exclusively in flashbacks; and even Dorothy at a younger age (played by Lyn Greene).

It is unclear whether Sophia moved to the United States alone or with her family, as her sister and mother had both eventually lived in New York as well. Sophia and her sister Angela were estranged for decades after a misunderstanding at a party in 1954; Angela then became a widow and she moved back to Sicily for 30 years until they reconciled and she moved back to the U.S. Sophia's brother Angelo (initially a priest, then a layman) remained in Sicily and moved to the United States only in season six.

Appearance

In her younger years, Sophia apparently had always been short, with reddish-brown hair (Estelle Getty's natural color), but in one episode she says she was "a tall voluptous blonde with a butt like granite" when she was younger (though this statement was likely a by-product of her penchant for telling tall tales). During the series' run, Sophia resembled the archetyphal "old lady" in looks: White-haired, small stature, wrinkles, and large-framed eyeglasses. Sophia owned a tan bamboo handbag which became her personal trademark, as she carried the purse everywhere, even around the house (including the bathroom). Sophia's sister Angela closely resembled these traits as well.

Appearances in others series

Getty also appeared as Sophia Petrillo in other episodes of sitcoms including Blossom, and one episode of the Empty Nest spin-off Nurses.