Dorothy Zbornak

Dorothy Zbornak
First appearance	"The Engagement"
Last appearance	"Seems Like Old Times Pt. 2"
In-universe information
Occupation	Substitute Teacher
Family	Sophia Petrillo, mother Salvadore Petrillo, father Gloria, sister Phil, brother Angelo, uncle Angela, aunt Papa Angelo, grandfather Mama, grandmother
Spouse	Stanley Zbornak (1946-1984) Lucas Hollingsworth (1992-)
Children	Michael Zbornak Kate Zbornak

Dorothy Zbornak Hollingsworth (née Petrillo), portrayed by Beatrice Arthur, is a fictional character from the TV series, The Golden Girls. Dorothy was the strong, sarcastic, sometimes intimidating and arguably most grounded of the four women in her house.

Family

Dorothy was born in Brooklyn, New York, prior to 1930, to Italian immigrants Sophia and Salvatore Petrillo. She has two younger siblings: brother Phil, a cross-dresser who died later in the show's run, and a sister, Gloria, who married rich and with whom Dorothy was sometimes estranged.

She was a "bookworm" and over-achiever in high school. Yet, she suffered from low self-esteem, because one boyfriend was emotionally abusive, while another one stood her up at her prom, or so she thought. He actually did show up, but was disrespectful toward Sophia, who didn't like the way he was dressed and turned him away, without telling Dorothy. Dejected, she later accepted a date with Stanley Zbornak (Herb Edelman), because she felt she couldn't do any better. She became pregnant, while still in high school, resulting in a shotgun wedding to Stan. They remained married for 38 years and had two children, Kate and Michael. Both children appeared in the show, although two different actresses played Kate. Michael's age should be around 38 at the beginning of the show because Dorothy got pregnant in high school. Stan and Dorothy were married for 38 years although Dorothy says that Michael is 30 in one episode and 23 in the episode when Michael gets married.

It's not mentioned at what stage Dorothy and Stan moved from New York to Miami, but they both continued to live in Miami after their eventual divorce due to Stan's infidelity.

Career

Dorothy worked as a high school substitute teacher of American History (also her college major) and English. She also taught a night school course for adults wishing to complete their high school equivalency. Dorothy also had summer and part-time jobs, which included tutoring and working alongside Blanche at the Museum (causing jealousy after Dorothy appeared to have become the boss' favorite).

Major events

After her divorce, Dorothy moved into a home in Miami, Florida, with Blanche Devereaux and Rose Nylund. Shortly thereafter, her mother, Sophia Petrillo, moved in after her nursing home, Shady Pines, burned down. Dorothy shared a unique relationship with her roommates, one often laced with her famously sardonic comments; the four shared a home for seven years, and in more than one episode it was pointed out that, despite a lack of blood relation, they were as much a family as any other household.

During the course of the show, Dorothy saw both of her children get married: Kate, to a podiatrist named Dennis, and Michael to a woman named Lorraine, a singer in his band whom he had gotten pregnant. Lorraine was African-American and almost twice Michael's age, which initially did not sit well with Dorothy because she felt Lorraine was far too old for Michael (ironically, Lorraine's family didn't want her to marry Michael because he was white). Kate's husband, Dennis, cheated on her, but she took him back, almost causing Dorothy and Kate to stop speaking, but they eventually reconciled. Lorraine left Michael later in the series, and there was no specific mention of his child with Lorraine (Dorothy's grandchild) thereafter. Dorothy did have grandchildren, but it was never specified whether they were Michael's or Kate's children.

Like the other women in the household, the series saw Dorothy progress through her fair share of romances, with her love life often coming into criticism by her mother. Ex-husband Stanley made regular attempts throughout the series to "win her back", and nearly remarried Dorothy, though in the end she called it off after Stanley and his lawyer presented her with a pre-nuptial agreement to sign.

Some of Dorothy's suitors turned out to have less-than-virtuous characters. Elliot Clayton, a respected doctor, made a pass at Blanche, and when Blanche told Dorothy about it, Dorothy accused Blanche of making up the whole thing and wanting Elliot for herself. Blanche, deeply hurt that Dorothy would believe Elliot's word over hers, announced she was kicking Dorothy out of the house, and this would have ended their friendship for good had Rose not exposed Elliot for the liar he was on the day Dorothy was to move out. Another suitor turned out to be a married man, which led Dorothy to break off the relationship because she remembered how much it hurt to be cheated on by her husband. Yet another prospect, named Eddie, was the best lover Dorothy had ever had, but Dorothy finally had to break up with Eddie as well because their relationship never progressed past the physical stage. Her high school teacher Mr. Gordon, whom she had a crush on, came back into her life many years later, only to take credit for an article that she had written. Stan's brother Ted told her that he had a crush on her since they were young and kissed her and almost ruined her friendship with Blanche, who had been Ted's date. Later, Ted asks Dorothy to baby-sit kids belonging to a stewardess that he wants to date, making Dorothy feel humiliated.

A few other suitors were portrayed by well-known actors, including Dick Van Dyke and Leslie Nielsen, whose character (Lucas Hollingsworth, an uncle of Blanche's) she married over the course of the final two episodes.

In spite of her strength, Dorothy does have phobias, namely hospitals and fear of flying. She managed to conquer both her fears with help from her friends.

In keeping with the show's practice of raising social awareness, a two-part episode involved Dorothy suffering from extreme exhaustion, which was ultimately determined to be chronic fatigue syndrome; Susan Harris, the show's co-writer, also suffered from the relatively unknown condition. In an earlier episode, Dorothy's friend, Jean, a lesbian, came to Miami for a visit and struck up a close friendship with Rose, with whom she soon realized she was in love. Dorothy was also shown to have a recurring gambling problem that eventually caused her to seek help through Gamblers Anonymous. She started smoking cigarettes again after quitting many years earlier, because of stress from her mother's remarriage and work. Presumably, she was able to kick the habit, since we never see her with a cigarette again.

Dorothy also appeared in two episodes of The Golden Girls' short-lived successor, The Golden Palace.

External links

• Dorothy's biography on Lifetime TV's website.
• Lifetime TV's site for The Golden Girls
• Dorothy's profile on myspace