How Old Were the Golden Girls Supposed to Be?

The Golden Girls' ages were never revealed on screen during the show. However, with some detective work, fans of the NBC sitcom can figure them out.


The classic NBC comedy The Golden Girls broke boundaries with its cast of four older women -- representation that was previously lacking on television. The main characters' ages were usually not explicitly stated. However, some deductive work provides a pretty safe estimate of how old the Golden Girl were supposed to be when the show started.


The basic facts to work with are that The Golden Girls began in 1985 and ended in 1992 -- both in real life and in-universe. For simplicity's sake, each season is considered a separate year, because the show ran for seven seasons. That means coming up with each Golden Girl's age in Season 1 all the way to Season 7 is easy for a superfan.


How Old Was Rose Nylund on Golden Girls?


Portrayed by TV and movie sweetheart Betty White, Rose's age is the easiest to track down -- thanks to Dorothy openly saying it in Season 1, Episode 22, "Job Hunting." During a conversation in which Rose discussed her difficulty finding a new job after losing her employment at the grief counseling center, Dorothy revealed that Rose was 55. Going off the idea that Season 1 takes place within the same year, Rose would have been 55 at the start of The Golden Girls as well, making her the oldest Golden Girl... after Sophia, of course. By the end of the series, Rose was 62.


How Old Was Dorothy Zbornak on Golden Girls?


None of the other Golden Girls outright stated their ages, so this is where the deductive work begins. Bea Arthur's character Dorothy stated she was a Leo in Season 4, Episode 10, "Stan Takes a Wife," placing her birthday either in late July or early-to-late August. Earlier in Season 3, Episode 5, "Nothing to Fear But Fear Itself," Sophia told Dorothy the story of the night Dorothy was conceived. Sophia stated it happened in 1931, making it likely Dorothy was born sometime in 1932. The math adds up to Dorothy being 53 at the start of the show and 60 at the series' end.


Sophia Petrillo's Age Didn't Match Actor Estelle Getty


Sophia was never afraid to admit how old she was, often using it to her advantage over the other women in the house. Ironically, actor Estelle Getty was a year younger than Bea Arthur, who played Sophia's daughter Dorothy. The clever use of makeup and a wig helped Getty match her character's age. Season 2, Episode 25, "A Piece of Cake" revealed Sophia celebrated her 50th birthday in 1956, putting her at 79 at The Golden Girls' beginning. Sophia was 86 by the final season.


Blanche Devereaux's Age Was The Most Mysterious


Rue McClanahan's character Blanche Devereaux kept her age a mystery (and a recurring joke) throughout most of The Golden Girls. Rose went so far as to search through official records to find out, only to learn it was "deleted by authority of the governor." In Season 2, Episode 1, "End of the Curse," Blanche believed she was pregnant and stated she'd be 65 by the time the child graduates high school. Assuming her child would graduate at 17, that would make Blanche 48 in 1986 -- and 47 at the start of the series.


However, Season 3, Episode 25, "Mother's Day," confirmed Blanche turned 17 in 1949 when she and her mother reminisced about one of Blanche's dates. That made Blanche 53 at the start of the series. Considering how easily Blanche lied to her housemates about her age and that Sophia immediately called her out in Season 2 by correcting that she'd be 70 when her kid graduated, it's safe to assume that 53 was her actual age going into The Golden Girls. Blanche would have been 60 in the last episode.


This evidence somewhat debunks the fan theory that the actresses were playing characters much younger than their actual age, Rue McClanahan's age in 1985 was 52, one year younger than Blanche. Estelle Getty was 62 in 1985, so she was 17 years younger than the character she portrayed. Both Betty White and Bea Arthur were 63 when The Golden Girls premiered, making them the only two to be older than their beloved alter egos.

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