39 Facts About Dorothy Zbornak

Dorothy Zbornak is a character from the sitcom television series The Golden Girls, portrayed by Bea Arthur.

At the time, Dorothy was recently divorced from her ex-husband Stanley.

Dorothy Zbornak often acted as den mother and voice of reason among the quartet, "the great leveler" according to Bea Arthur, though at times she acted foolishly or negatively and would need her friends and family to help ground her again.

Dorothy Zbornak was regarded to be in her mid-50s in the first season of The Golden Girls.

Dorothy Zbornak was called "Pussycat" by her mother and "Spumoni Face" by her father.

Dorothy Zbornak later dismisses this possibility, deciding the people who raised her are her real parents.

Dorothy Zbornak has two younger siblings, her brother Phil and her sister Gloria, nicknamed "Kitten".

At an early age, Phil demonstrates that he sometimes prefers to wear feminine clothing, and Dorothy Zbornak accepts this, remarking later that she sometimes borrowed her brother's outfits.

Dorothy Zbornak believes that Gloria unfairly judges her and resents that her mother sometimes refers to the younger sister as the "good daughter," while Gloria resents Dorothy Zbornak, considering her to be the favored daughter for being so responsible and intelligent.

Stan and Dorothy Zbornak buy property in Miami during their honeymoon there and later make the city their home.

Dorothy Zbornak completes her high school education and attends college, majoring in American history.

Dorothy Zbornak learns French and becomes a high school teacher, and later a substitute teacher, teaching mainly English and American History.

Dorothy Zbornak is a very dedicated and strong-willed teacher, earning the nickname "Attila The Sub" from some students.

Dorothy Zbornak meets Rose Nylund, a widow from the town of St Olaf, and the two rent rooms in a house owned by widow Blanche Devereaux, from a wealthy family in Atlanta.

Sophia resents that her daughter is her caretaker and Dorothy Zbornak likewise gets annoyed by Sophia's stubborn nature and biting remarks at times.

Dorothy Zbornak teaches a night-school course for adults wishing to complete their high school equivalency, including Rose.

Dorothy Zbornak briefly takes a job teaching business executives but decides not to continue when they make it clear that they have no interest in learning new things.

Dorothy Zbornak briefly becomes a writer for the educational children's program The Mister Terrific Show and appears on the show as "Mrs School Teacher" before quitting.

Dorothy Zbornak gets to see both her children married, Kate to a podiatrist named Dennis, and Michael to a singer in his band named Lorraine.

Dorothy Zbornak is concerned about Michael's marriage since it is partially spurred by the fact that Lorraine is pregnant and is 44 years old while he is in his 20s.

Dorothy Zbornak offers perspective, and the two start to reconcile, but Gloria then sleeps with Stan in Dorothy Zbornak's bed.

Sophia decides to remain with Blanche and Rose in Miami, believing she has a life there now and that Dorothy Zbornak needs to explore her new relationship without her.

Different episodes depict Dorothy Zbornak dealing with phobias regarding hospitals and heights, first denying her fears and vulnerabilities before openly admitting them and seeking coping mechanisms.

Dorothy Zbornak reveals she is a former smoker and recovering gambling addict.

When Dorothy Zbornak sees Blanche in a toxic relationship, the latter defends herself by saying her new boyfriend never physically assaults or hits her.

Dorothy Zbornak then relates her experience with verbal and emotional abuse, arguing that abuse does not need to be physical to cause harm.

Bush visits Miami, Dorothy Zbornak intends to angrily confront him regarding education, only to be rendered mute at the shock of actually meeting him.

When her son Mike decides to marry a woman 21 years older than him, Dorothy Zbornak is concerned about the age difference but later concedes is not her business to stop them from marrying.

In "Dorothy Zbornak's Prized Pupil", Dorothy Zbornak expresses compassion for such as Mario, a student who is an undocumented immigrant, offering to help him.

When Blanche and Rose warn her that her new friend Barbara Thorndyke seems toxic, narrow-minded and snobbish, Dorothy Zbornak repeatedly defends the woman, despite her obvious condescending attitudes.

Likewise, Dorothy Zbornak openly discusses her brother Phil Petrillo's cross-dressing without ever shaming him or feeling embarrassed that he does so.

Dorothy Zbornak is upset, not due to Kessler's revelation but because he decides to drop out of the political race following his revelation.

One episode involves Sophia being asked by a friend to assist in her suicide, leading her and Dorothy Zbornak to discuss the matter and whether such action is acceptable.

The story ends with Dorothy Zbornak confronting one of the doctors who dismissed her, finding that the man does not recognize her.

Dorothy Zbornak was the great balloon pricker, if you will.

For Dorothy Zbornak, the show specified they wanted "a Bea Arthur type".

Dorothy Zbornak showed addictive habits in regards to smoking and gambling, quitting both.

Dorothy Zbornak said that while she was grateful for the experience she wanted to return to live theatre and thought it was best to leave before popularity waned or Dorothy became too predictable to audiences.

Arthur admitted that even though she wanted to leave, and was happy that Dorothy Zbornak would be marrying the "gorgeous" Leslie Nielsen, she was very sad to do so in the end and say goodbye to the cast and crew.