Blanche Devereaux, played by Rue McClanahan, was the resident southern bell and man-crazy dating expert on Golden Girls. Throughout the show’s 7 season run, fans watched Blanche charm everyone with her style and confident attitude.
Blanche was free and fun-loving, and every fan wanted to be friends with her as she was also loyal, caring, and gave great advice. When fans think of Blanche they think of her many dating escapades and her charming vanity, but there was more to Blanche than just the men she dated and her beautiful appearance. Here are the 10 things even diehard fans didn’t know about the gorgeous Blanche Devereaux:
She Co-owned a Hotel
Many fans probably wondered what happened to Blanche after Golden Girls ended in 1992. After seven years of watching Blanche Devereaux, fans all hoped their favorite southern bell was alright after the series ended. Fans don’t need to worry, Blanche, along with Sophia and Rose, all moved on to their next adventure after Dorothy departed.
The three remaining women opened a hotel together called The Golden Palace after Blanche’s home sold. This was quite the adventure for the three women, as they had to perform most of the hotel duties themselves. The Golden Palace was also the name of the Golden Girls spin-off series which produced 24 episodes before it was canceled in 1993.
Rue Loved Men Just as Much as Blanche
Every fan of the Golden Girls knows Blanche loved men. She loved flirting with them, dating them, and taking them to her bedroom or meeting them at a hotel. Rue McClanahan did not differ much from Blanche in this area, except while Blanche was only married once, Rue was married 6 times.
Blanche might have been promiscuous, but her heart only belonged to George, and he was the only man she ever married. Rue, on the other hand, didn’t stop at just dating, she married her men. Her longest marriage was to Morrow Wilson, who she married in 1997 and stayed married to until she passed away in 2010. Maybe Morrow was Rue’s George.
Rue Kept All of Blanche’s Clothes
Blanche was without a doubt the most glamorous of the four women, often appearing in bright colors, sequins, heels, and beautiful nightgowns. She was usually the one to give the other women clothing advice as well, as she never hid how she felt about an outfit. Fans never questioned what Blanche said about style, as she always looked stunning.
These clothes looked so good on her in fact, that Rue decided to keep them. Rue had a clause put into her contract for the series stating she could keep any outfit that appeared on the show. Where does a person keep all of this clothing you might ask? In her kitchen, of course. Rue turned her kitchen into an expanded closet for her signature Blanche Devereaux looks.
She had 5 Children
Throughout the series’s 7 season run, fans only met two of Blanche’s five children. Rebecca and Janet, Blanche’s daughters, were the only two to ever make an appearance on the show, the other three never bothered to visit their mother. This isn’t much of a surprise though, as Blanche even admitted herself that she wasn’t the best mother. But who are Blanche’s other three children?
Blanche has three sons as well as her two daughters. Matthew “Skippy”, Doug, and Biff are the sons of Blanche and George. Blanche might not have been the greatest at parenting, but she does look amazing after having five kids.
She was 1 of 5 Children
No one understands sibling rivalry better than Blanche, as she is often in a disagreement with one of her siblings, usually one of her sisters about who was Big Daddy’s favorite. Throughout Blanche’s time on Golden Girls, fans met both of her sisters, Charmaine and Virginia, and her brother, Clayton.
But what about the fifth Hollingsworth sibling? Theodore “Tad” Hollingsworth isn’t mentioned too often in Golden Girls, but he does make a couple of appearances in The Golden Palace. Turns out the fifth Hollingsworth child spent most of his life in a Chattanooga Institution. Poor Tad probably just needed a break from his eccentric and dramatic family.
Almost Cast as Rose
There was no one more perfect for the role of Blanche Devereaux than Rue McClanahan, and nobody but Betty White could have played Rose Nylund. But originally, the creators of the Golden Girls disagreed with that. Initially, they had offered the role of Blanche to Betty White and they wanted Rue to audition for Rose.
When Rue went to her audition for Rose, they asked her if she could read the part of Blanche as well. They loved it. A few days later they had Betty read for Rose while Rue read the part of Blanche. Everything clicked, and the decision was made that the women would switch roles. Fans would all agree this was the right choice.
Her Accent Changed
Fans who pay close attention can tell Blanche’s accent seems to change, becoming more southern, throughout the series. They might be relieved to know they aren’t imagining it, Blanche’s accent really did shift as the show went on. While Blanche Devereaux is from Atlanta, Georgia, Rue McClanahan is from Oklahoma.
The show’s original director, Jay Sandrich, wanted Rue to simply use her Oklahoma accent instead of a thick southern one. But when Paul Bogart, the Golden Girls’s second director, joined the team, he wanted Blanche to have a more prominent southern accent. Rue created her own sultry take on a southern accent that became Blanche’s signature sound.
Won an Emmy for Her Role as Blanche
Blanche Devereaux won the hearts of many during her 7 years on the Golden Girls, including the hearts of the Emmys. Rue was nominated for several Emmy awards throughout the series’s seven seasons, and she won her first Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for her performance as Blanche Devereaux in 1987.
That year, Bea Arthur, Betty White, and Rue McClanahan were all nominated for the award, but when Rue’s name was called, her loving and supportive co-stars cheered the loudest for her. Rue even thanked her co-stars during her acceptance speech, as there would be no Golden Girls without them.
Her Initials Spell BED
Blanche has quite the reputation, and she is definitely proud of it. Blanche is such a natural when it comes to flirting and dating, almost everything in her life revolves around it, including her name. Fans learned in season 7, episode 1 “Hey, Look Over Here” that Blanche’s middle name is Elizabeth.
If you shorten Blanche Elizabeth Devereaux to just the initials, it spells bed. What a coincidence that the golden girl who spends the most time agreeing to go to bed with men has initials that spell bed. But there’s no denying that Blanche sure knows her way around a bed.
She was 53 When the Show Started
Everyone has their secrets, including Blanche. While some might think her secret has to do with her many adventures with men, it actually has nothing to do with that, and everything to do with her age. Blanche never tells anyone her real age, even having it erased from her records.
But unfortunately for Blanche, she left fans little clues of how old she was. In season 3, episode 25 “Mother’s Day” Blanche’s mother lets it slip that Blanche was 17 years old in 1949 which means Blanche was born in 1932. This would make her 53 years old when the series started, and 60 years old when the series ended. You’re only as old as you feel though.
