Sad news...

Estelle Getty, the lovable, saucy actress best known for her role as feisty mother Sophia Petrillo in the hit sitcom "The Golden Girls," has died. She was just days away from her 85th birthday. ET confirms the actress passed away at 5:35 a.m. Pacific Time this morning with her two sons by her side.

Upon hearing the sad news, Getty's "Golden Girls" co-star Bea Arthur said, "Our mother-daughter relationship was one of the greatest comic duos ever, and I will miss her."

Another co-star, actress Betty White, said that even though Getty has passed, her character will live on. "The only comfort at this moment is, that although Estelle has moved on, Sophia will always be with us."

The other cast member on the series, Rue McClanahan, had this to say: "Estelle always wanted to be an actress, and she achieved that goal beyond her dreams.  Don't feel sad about her passing - she will always be with us in her crowning achievement - Sophia.  I love you, Slats - Rue." Slats was a nickname Rue had for Estelle.

Born in New York, NY on July 25, 1923, Estelle didn't start her entertainment career until the early 1970s on Broadway, though as a teen she was already an energetic performer, eager to audition for plays. She got her first big break with the Broadway hit, Torch Song Trilogy, in which she played a Jewish mother whose son is a drag queen. The part had been written especially for her by playwright Harvey Firestein.

When NBC producers caught the show during a national tour of the play, they were so enamored with her that they asked her to audition for a new show called "The Golden Girls." But Estelle was reportedly turned down because she was too young for the role. It wasn't until she returned a few auditions later, wearing make-up aging her 20 years and an oversized dress from a thrift-shop, that she was able to nab the part of 80-year-old Sophia Petrillo.

The sitcom debuted in 1985 and quickly became one of the top 10 most-watched shows in America, earning 57 Emmy nominations and making audiences laugh for seven seasons. Estelle also made several notable film appearances. In 1984, she played Cher's mother in the Peter Bogdanovich film, 'Mask.' She took on a leading role in 1992 as Sylvester Stallone's mother in the action/comedy flick 'Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot!' She also appeared as Grandma Estelle in the 1999 family film 'Stuart Little.' In 2000, she announced that she had Parkinson's disease, and four years later it was revealed that she was also suffering from dementia.