Which Golden Girl was the most talented?

Getty did pretty well considering she had Alzheimer's through most of the show.

Betty White was the least gifted.

Dorothy Zbornak

Herb Edelman was so funny!

I consider Bea and Betty performers while Rue and Estelle were actresses.

I’ve seen Rue on stage and she is a chameleon.

Rue was definitely the most talented actress.

I found the Sophia character FUNNY. The Rose character with her INANE St Olaf anecdotes was DULL.

The old guy who was always up to fuck. You know, the dude who dated one of the girls.

I’ve been binging the Golden Girls with my partner for the last couple of months because what the hell else is there to do and in re-watching I’m firmly of the opinion that Rue is the most underrated of the Golden Girl actresses.

Getty is adorable as Sophia, but she’s easily the weakest actress of the four and you could chart her obvious cognitive decline as the series progressed. Estelle could certainly deliver a mischievous borscht belt one-liner with the best of them, but episodes where Sophia was the focus of an emotionally serious “A-plot” usually faltered.

Betty White and Bea Arthur are both 99% brilliant. Betty nails the hairpin turns of Rose’s comedy, which juxtaposes her sunny all-american girl at 60 persona with a profound and almost disquieting weirdness, and Bea Arthur is peerless at reaction takes, acidic take downs and wounded dignity. At their weakest, Bea can be a bit too mannered and theatrical and Betty can lapse into cheap sitcommy business and winking at the studio audience.

Rue is, to me, the best actress of the four and never puts a foot wrong. Her Blanche is perfect - vain, selfish, petty and with the morals of an unspayed house cat, but always human and loveable and most importantly deeply funny.

Well put R8

The Golden Girls was such a brilliantly written ensemble piece that each actress complimented their roles and their acting style so well, it doesn't work if you take anyone of them out of the equation (if you ever watched Golden Palace this becomes exceedingly clear). So it's very hard to say "oh she was the best."

In terms of actual acting ability, Rue was probably the strongest. I think Blanche is actually the most complex character in the bunch. She is presented as the slut, but in reality she isn't, she is vain and selfish but she's also remarkably sensitive with a great deal of empathy. Rose, Dorothy and Sophia really never go beyond the confines of their role in the the ensemble (the dumb one, the down to earth one, the wise 'mother' figure). I also think Rue had the most diverse career in terms of the characters she played. However, Rue does crack up the most out of the four. If you've watched the show as many times as I have, you can often see Rue twitch or trying to suppress a smile at many punchlines.

Bea, however, is the best comedic performer in the group. In fact, Bea is one of the best comedic performers of the 20th century. I put her right up there with Lucille Ball. One can deliver a laugh with just a look like Bea could. She underplayed the comedy on the show which grounds the situations the girls find themselves in each week. And this is why the golden palace didn't work because Dorothy was the anchor of the group.

Betty White is a legend. She has great comedic timing and she plays the audience in a very obvious yet subtle way that works extremely well. She's also probably the only one of the four you never see crack on camera in the entire run. Betty I think has a slightly more limited ranged than Rue or Bea, only because I think she lacks a background in theater. But (and controversy) I think she's a better 'tv performer' than Bea. Bea always treated Golden Girls (and Maude) like play, Betty plays for the camera.

Estelle was great, but the weakest of the four, but I think that has to do more with how nervous she was and her dementia.

Herb Edelman was brilliant as Stan and he and Bea Arthur had incredible chemistry - even if I now think Rue is the better actress, Bea Arthur was probably the best and most generous scene partner on the show, this is especially apparent in her scenes with Estelle.

This is random, but i always thought Herb and Bea would have made a terrific Tevye and Golde in Fiddler on the Roof.

I hated the Rose / Betty White character. Her St. Olaf stories could have been shorter instead of so boring and long-winded. It was a one-note, boring character and a one-note, boring performance by BW. Rue McClanahan was smart to reject that role and pursue the Blanche role.

Sophia was funny, in spurts. Also kind of one-note.

Most talented would be a tie between Bea Arthur / Zbornak & McClanahan.

Why didn't they ever do a Golden Girls, MSW crossover?

Rue was the best actor in the cast, she never missed a beat.

I rest my case...

“The morals of an unspayed house cat.”

I demand to have that on my tombstone. Bless you, R8.

Bea was a great talent and utterly brilliant at reactions. There is an art to how she would slowly look up (almost at the camera) and then slowly turn her head towards whomever just had the ridiculous punchline. But I have to agree with the comments that her natural reserve made her more emotional scenes seem forced in a way you didn't get from either Betty or Rue.

R11 Interestingly although Bea (and the other ladies) were generous performs and totally committed to the ensemble nature of the show, Bea hated being part of an ensemble and it's one of the reasons she hated doing the Golden Girls.

R15: That was beautiful.

Coco.

I have to agree with the comments about Rue. Rue seems like she was the most committed to her character. Based on comments made about her over there years, she was type of actress who knew everything about her character right now to what she would've had for lunch on that day, and you can see that her in performances. The way she walked, moved her body, and her voice were all unique to that character. Rue was a character actress at heart, while the other three ladies weren't. Bea for all her comic genius, pretty much played the same character her entire TV career. Dorothy is really just played as a lower energy version of Maude.

Rue's gasping for air in between every sentence annoys me to this day.

But she could tie a cherry stem into a knot with her tongue

Sorry, all you Herb Edelman fans, but I shudder every time he's in a sxene. I dont know if its him or the character, but he is my least favorite, and that includes Rita Moreno. Plus Bea's slight lisp gets on my nerves.

OK, but none of them could whirlybird like me.

Bea was the funniest.

Brilliant reactions and comic timing.

Betty was much better as Sue Ann Nivens.

Estelle was best in small doses.

Rues' lesbian speech (in my opinion) was probably the best moment of the whole series.

I've been re-watching the show on Disney+ and I can't believe I never noticed how obvious it is that Estelle (and sometimes Bea) was reading off cue cards. Estelle is always looking away from the character she's supposed to be talking to. The episode where Dorothy is dealing with chronic fatigue syndrome, Bea is so clearly reading her speech off a cue card it's distracting.

Rue got axed off of Mama's Family, show how talented she is

I think Bea was clearly the most talented, she had the best timing of any of them & I laughed out loud the most at her stuff; her reactions are priceless, you laugh & she doesn’t even have to say a word

. Estelle was the weakest, you anticipated her punchlines from a mile away & that kind of put a damper on the humor.

Betty & Rue are tied in the middle, but I’d give Betty the edge.

Betty White and Bea Arthur are both 99% brilliant. Betty nails the hairpin turns of Rose’s comedy, which juxtaposes her sunny all-american girl at 60 persona with a profound and almost disquieting weirdness, and Bea Arthur is peerless at reaction takes, acidic take downs and wounded dignity. At their weakest, Bea can be a bit too mannered and theatrical and Betty can lapse into cheap sitcommy business and winking at the studio audience

Perfectly said.

.,.,

Betty White's best role was Sue Ann Nivens on The Mary Tyler Moore Show. I loved her and still do.

However, Betty White as Rose on the Golden Girls was so dumb and unappealing. Her character drove me crazy and is one of the reasons I could take or leave GG. The show to me was just okay anyway. I liked Bea and Rue, but overall, I didn't care if I didn't watch. Designing Women remains the far superior show of that time period. As long as I saw DW, there was no need to watch GG.

All four actresses were stellar on the show. But Estelle was the best at comedic timing!! Anyone who says otherwise wasn't there or was drunk!

R32 I agree. Estelle is brilliant when she was in her prime. The stories I've heard of what it was like seeing her in Torch Song Trilogy live are pretty incredible, and many still lament that she didn't get the film role version. I think she was able to deliver a line like no other on Golden Girls. Sadly, you can see her cognitive decline begin somewhere around season 5, and I believe her sons have said that she was put on medication to help, but it slowed down that sharpness she had in the earlier seasons.

Betty was brilliant at what she did. There's a reason she's lasted as long as she has. As someone so brilliantly said above, she played to the camera in the way the others didn't quite, as she was on tv for most of her life. She just knew the beats and timing like she could do it all with her eyes closed.

Bea is Bea...one of the all-time greats. As said above too, she's up there with the best of the female comic actors, even if she did play a sort of singular style/personality through most of her characters... it always worked. I think of her little part in Mel Brooks' "History of the World, Part 1"...short and sweet, but genius. Whatever she did, she left an impression you'd never forget. That way of giving a look, or framing her body in a certain pose, and that timing...nothing quite like it.

And Rue is truly underrated. As said, she really did have an incredible versatility over the years. She brought the perfect combination of theatricality, spunk and real heart to such a character that could have easily been a caricature.

That was the genius of the show, they each brought something to the table unique, and necessary. That's what made it work. I don't even think I can pick a 'most talented'...

Betty White has the best timing considering she had potentially the most unlikeable

I remember back watching the original run as a gayling and Rue/Blanche being my least favorite. Now when I watch, I enjoy her the most. Rose and Sophia are sometimes irritating to me now.

[quote] Rues' lesbian speech (in my opinion) was probably the best moment of the whole series.

For me it was the AIDS speech she gave to Rose.

At that time it was exactly what people needed to hear, whether they wanted to or not.

They all sucked ass. Now I would have been magnificent.

Rue

What I loved Blanche is she could be evil and innocent, the voice of reason or an idiot, etc. She was well rounded and the most complex out of all of them, as someone mentioned. You always knew Dorothy was going to be the smartest and Rose was going to be the dumbest. But Blanche could be a toss up.

Like that whole Merrill episode. When she sits on the couch and realizes who it is and JUMPS up, it was fucking hilarious.

I don't think anyone beats Bea's preternatural sense of comedic timing. And just a look could make you crack up. It's a rare gift. I think the other ladies (especially Rue) were good, but Bea was just on another level.

I suppose the proof is GOLDEN PALACE. With Bea they didn't last beyond one season.

Bea never in her life played anything other the same part: the bone-dry sarcastic woman. No one was funnier than she was, but even though she had that great and unusual singing voice, she had a small range. But she was brilliant within it.

Betty was brilliant, in that she played two absolutely legendary and completely different characters: Sue Ann Nivens and Rose Nylund. She was unforgettable as either, and they had nothing in common. Plus as the title role in "Life with Elizabeth," she played a THIRD, hilarious, and unforgettable character.

Rue was wonderful, and a very intelligent actress. But her Vivian and her Blanche are not as far apart as Betty's Sue Ann and her Rose. Also, Rue always seemed like a supporting player.

I just never knew the extent of Estelle Getty's range--I wish i had seen her in "Torch Song Trilogy" so i were a better judge. Again, like Rue, she seemed on "The Golden Girls" to be playing a supporting part. To me Sophia was the least funny part, since so much of her character's humor involved her either being crude or being mean.

So I'm not a good enough judge since I don;t know the extent of Estelle's abilities. bot I would say the other three was terrific, and Betty and Bea were so good as to be stars. but Betty is to me the most talented--she had the most acting range and was unforgettable in any of her three great roles.