Bea Arthur
Beatrice Arthur (born Bernice Frankel, May 13, 1922 – April 25, 2009), also known as Bea Arthur, was an American actress, comedian, and singer. Her career spanned seven decades.
Arthur achieved fame as the character Maude Findlay on the 1970s sitcoms All in the Family (1971–72) and Maude (1972–78), and as Dorothy Zbornak on the 1980s sitcom The Golden Girls (1985–92), winning Emmy Awards for both roles. A stage actress both before and after her television success, she won the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical for her performance as Vera Charles in the original cast of Mame (1966).
Early life
Beatrice Arthur was born Bernice Frankel on May 13, 1922, to Philip and Rebecca (née Pressner) Frankel in New York City. Arthur was raised in a Jewish home with sisters Gertrude and Marian Kay. In 1933, the Frankel family relocated to Cambridge, Maryland, where her parents subsequently operated a women's clothing shop. She attended Linden Hall School for Girls, an all-girls' boarding school in Lititz, Pennsylvania, before enrolling at Blackstone College for Girls in Blackstone, Virginia, where she was active in the school's drama program.
