Kristin Davis, known for her role in the acclaimed series Sex and the City, recently expressed her surprise at the ages of the cast members of The Golden Girls. The classic sitcom, which ran from 1985 to 1992, featured a game-changing cast of elder women as they experienced friendship, love, and life in Miami. Davis admits that when the show first premiered, she had actually assumed the protagonists were much older than they truly were. This misperception surprised her the most.
Created by Marta Kaufman and David Crane, The Golden Girls became known for its racy comedy and sharp dialogue, often drawing comparisons to Sex and the City. When the show first debuted in 1985, its characters were originally conceived to be in their 50s. This decision was a daring challenge to the ageist views of society at large. Beatrice Arthur and Betty White played two of the strongest female leads on television in that series. When they debuted as Dorothy Zbornak and Rose Nylund respectively, they were both 63 years old. Rue McClanahan, who is probably most associated with the role of the brassy, man-chasing Blanche Devereaux, was 51. In contrast, Estelle Getty, the woman who played lovable Sophia Petrillo, was 62.
Add in the convenient, quaint format of the show — a multicam type shot before a live studio audience — and you have the show’s appeal. Audiences couldn’t get enough of the cutting remarks and comic genius that made The Golden Girls a phenomenon. The show’s success could be felt through its seven-season run and its 16 Primetime Emmy Award wins and 28 Emmy nominations.
“The Golden Girls represents an amazing cultural phenomenon on its own,” Davis said during a roundtable interview on the show’s set.
The Golden Girls did much more than delight their audience live and on reruns around the world. It was a pioneering show that embraced themes of friendship, love, and resilience, serving as an inspiration for future generations of television creators.
While the beautiful city of Miami served as a colorful backdrop, the series quickly became known for its widely diverse and evolving slice of complex characters and storylines. The show’s theme song—“Thank You for Being a Friend”—proved to be as much of a hit with 1980s audiences as it is with today’s Golden Girls fanatics.
