The world lost one hell of a gal yesterday. Estelle Gettleman, better known as Estelle Getty, left this life but will forever be remembered. Throughout childhood we watched as Sophia, Rose, Blanche, and Dorothy taught us what it truly meant to be a friend. Most of the world knows the theme song to The Golden Girls, and if you stood up in a restaurant and belted the tune, you’d surely be joined by most of the people around you. Even if you only sang the first line, someone would pick up where you left off, that’s just the kind of impact The Golden Girls had. The show was a part of growing up for our generation. Whether you loved it or not, you knew who they were.

You can go to any news outlet online and find an obituary, but we’d rather give her a tribute. In the spirit of all things Sophia, here’s what you don’t know about Estelle Getty:

Born Estelle Scher, she started acting at the age of 20, and struggled for 40 years until she finally landed the role of Sophia on The Golden Girls. Estelle was 60 years old when she auditioned for the part of Sophia, but was turned down twice because she “didn’t look old enough.” They said she walked too fast, talked too fast, and just didn’t look like she was 80 years old. Estelle came back the third time to audition for the role, dressed in what she thought looked more “80″ and told the makeup artist, “To you this is just a job. To me it’s my entire career down the toilet unless you make me look 80.” The makeup artist did just that, and Estelle landed the role of a lifetime. Estelle’s character, Sophia, was the oldest of the group… but Estelle was not the oldest of the actresses. Sophia’s daughter, Dorothy, was played by Bea Arthur, who is a year older than Estelle.

Estelle was nominated for award after award for the role she played from 1985-1992. Sophia stole the show in almost every episode. Estelle was truly a star and was recognized for being such, repeatedly. She was nominated for 7 Emmy Awards for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series (1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992) and 3 Golden Globe Awards (1985, 1986, 1991).

Estelle suffered from the little-known disease Lew Body Dimentia, which in laymen’s terms is a cross between Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. She was incorrectly diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease in 2000, then Alzheimer’s in 2002. In 2003 she was finally correctly diagnosed with Lew Body Dimentia.

Estelle left this world Tuesday, July 22, 2008, just 3 days before her 85th birthday.

Lifetime will run a tribute to Estelle on Friday, July 25, from noon to 5pm EST. They will be airing the best of Sophia and you can vote in their poll for your favorite episode, which will air last.

We love you Estelle. Rest in peace, dear.

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