Dorothy Zbornak
| Dorothy Petrillo Zbornak Hollingsworth | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| First appearance | "The Engagement" (The Golden Girls) September 14, 1985 |
| Last appearance | "Seems Like Old Times Pt. 2" (The Golden Palace) November 6, 1992 |
| Portrayed by |
Bea Arthur Lynnie Greene (younger) |
| Information | |
| Occupation | Substitute teacher |
| Family | Salvadore "Sal" Petrillo (father; deceased) Sophia Spirelli Gristani Petrillo Weinstock (mother) Max Weinstock (ex-stepfather) Gloria Mayston Petrillo Harker (sister) Philip "Phil" Petrillo (brother; deceased) |
| Spouse(s) | Stanley "Stan" Zbornak (m.1946-1984; divorced) Lucas Hollingsworth (m.1992) |
| Children | Michael Zbornak (son, with Stan) Kate Zbornak Griffiths (daughter, with Stan) |
| Relatives | Yolanda Zbornak (ex-mother-in-law) Mr. Zbornak (ex-father-in-law) Dr. Theodore "Ted" Zbornak (ex-brother-in-law Curtis "Big Daddy" Hollingsworth (brother-in-law; deceased) Elizabeth Ann/Samantha "Big Mommy" Bennett Roquet Hollingsworth (sister-in-law by marriage; deceased) Dennis Griffiths (son-in-law) Bobby Griffiths (grandson; through Kate) Lorraine Wagner Zbornak (ex-daughter-in-law) Robert "Robbie" Zbornak (grandson; through Michael) Don Angelo Grisanti, Sr. (maternal grandfather; deceased) Eleanor Gristani (maternal grandmother; deceased) Katherine Harker (niece) Angelo Grisanti, Jr. (maternal uncle) Angela Rachel Gristani Vecchio (maternal aunt; deceased) Carmine Vecchio (maternal uncle by marriage; deceased) Angela Petrillo (sister-in-law; through Phil) Harvey Petrillo (nephew; through Phil) 5 Unnamed Nephews Petrillo (through Phil) 4 Unnamed Nieces Petrillo (through Phil) Jim Harker (nephew; through Gloria) Graciella (cousin) Apollonia Grisanti (maternal cousin) Regina Grisanti (maternal aunt) Vito Grisanti (maternal uncle) Dominic (uncle) Uncle Dominic's Daughter (cousin) Uncle Dominic's Son-In-Law (cousin-in-law) Blanche Elizabeth Hollingsworth Devereaux (niece by marriage) Clayton "Clay" Louis Hollingsworth (nephew by marriage) Charmaine Gertrude Hollingsworth LaPale (niece by marriage) Theodore "Tad" Hunter Hollingsworth (nephew by marriage) Virginia Lena Hollingsworth Warren (niece by marriage) Renata Grisanti (maternal great-aunt) Mario (great-uncle) Teresa Grisanti (maternal great-aunt by marriage; through Nunzio) Nunzio Grisanti (maternal great-uncle) Morris (uncle-in-law; deceased) Greta Wagner (ex-co-mother-in-law) Trudy (ex-co-mother-in-law's sister) Libby (ex-co-mother-in-law's sister) |
| Religion | Roman Catholicism |
Dorothy Zbornak (née Petrillo) is a fictional character from the TV series The Golden Girls, portrayed by Bea Arthur for 7 years and 183 episodes. Dorothy was the strong, smart, sarcastic, sometimes intimidating, and arguably most grounded of the four women in the house. Though tough, she is normally friendly, polite and does genuinely care for the other girls. In the 1000th issue of Entertainment Weekly, Dorothy Zbornak was selected as the Grandma for "The Perfect TV Family."
Dorothy Petrillo was born in New York, New York, and was the daughter of Italian immigrants Sophia (Estelle Getty, who was actually a year younger than Arthur) and Salvadore Petrillo. Dorothy states in one episode that she is a Leo (born in July or August). In the season three episode, "Nothing to Fear But Fear Itself" (1987), Sophia says Dorothy was conceived in 1931, after Sophia's and Salvadore's first argument as newlyweds. In the show's final season in 1992, Dorothy's age is stated as 60.
Dorothy was nicknamed "Pussycat" by her mother, and "Spumoni Face" by her father. Dorothy has two younger siblings: brother Phil, a cross-dresser, who died later in the show's run; and a sister, Gloria, who was nicknamed "Kitten" and married into money, and with whom Dorothy was sometimes estranged. In the fourth-season episode Foreign Exchange, Dorothy wondered whether she is the biological daughter of the Petrillos, since Dominic and Philomena Bosco claimed that the hospital switched babies. However, in the third-season episode "Mother's Day," Sophia Petrillo's mother is also played by Bea Arthur, so it is implied that Dorothy and Sophia are biologically related (though in one episode Dorothy states that her grandmother was 94 when she was only 6, though it is never made clear if it is her paternal or maternal grandmother. However she also states that she was in a wheelchair, which her maternal grandmother was.). In that episode and three others which took place in Dorothy's young adulthood, Dorothy Zbornak was portrayed by a tall, dark-haired actress named Lynnie Greene. In the episode "Clinton Avenue Memoirs," Dorothy was shown as a young child (played by Jandi Swanson) jealous of the attention that her parents were giving to her baby brother Phil, until her father tells her that he loves her very much.
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