| Estelle Harris | |
| Birth Name: | Estelle Nussbaum |
| Birth Date: | 22 April 1928 |
| Birth Place: | New York City, U.S. |
| Death Place: | Palm Desert, California, U.S. |
| Years Active: | 1976–2019 |
| Spouse: | [1] |
| Children: | 3 |
Estelle Harris (; April 22, 1928 – April 2, 2022) was an American actress and comedian, known for her exaggeratedly shrill, grating voice. She was best known for her role as Estelle Costanza on Seinfeld. Her other roles included the voice of Mrs. Potato Head in the 'Toy Story' franchise, Muriel in The Suite Life of Zack & Cody, and Mama Gunda in Tarzan II. During her career, Harris starred in various television commercials.
Harris was born Estelle Nussbaum in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of Manhattan, New York on April 22, 1928, the younger of two daughters of Isaac ('Ira') and Anna Nussbaum, Polish Jewish immigrants who owned a candy store and soda shop. For many years, her date of birth was mistakenly cited as April 4, 1928. The correct date was not revealed until after her death.[2] [3] In 1935, when she was seven years old, the family relocated to Tarentum, Pennsylvania. She graduated from Tarentum High School.[4]
Harris began her career in amateur productions and in dinner theater before moving on to regional theaters and summer stock productions across the country.
After her children were grown, she found success on Madison Avenue as she appeared in as many as 25 national television commercials in a single year, earning her the nickname "Queen of Commercials." In one of her most-famous commercials, she energetically sang the praises of Handi-Wrap II.[5]
In 1977, Harris began her long format acting career in the film Looking Up about three generations of a working class Jewish family in New York City. She became widely known for her supporting role as Estelle Costanza on Seinfeld. "She is the mother that everybody loves, even though she's a pain in the neck," Harris told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette in 1998. Despite her iconic role, she was highly reclusive.
In , she appeared in the third-season episode "Sacred Ground," which aired on October 20, 1996.[6] She played a small role as Bridget in Out to Sea (1997).[6]
In Toy Story 2 (1999), she provided the voice of Mrs. Potato Head and would continue to reprise the role for the rest of the franchise. In 2005, she lent her voice to Mama Gunda in Tarzan II. In The Suite Life of Zack & Cody, Harris had a recurring role as Muriel. In 2007, she appeared in Brad Paisley's music video for the song "Online."[7] Harris reprised her role of Mrs. Potato Head in Toy Story 3 (2010) and Toy Story 4 (2019), the latter of which was her final film role. She portrayed Bertha Kristal, the mother of CBGB founder Hilly Kristal, in CBGB (2013).
Her other voice work included Lula in Dave the Barbarian, Mama Lipsky in Kim Possible, Thelma in The Proud Family, Mrs. Turtle in Mickey Mouse Works and House of Mouse, Death's mother in Family Guy, the Old Lady Bear in Brother Bear (2003), and Audrey in Home on the Range (2004).[8] She also provided the voice of Marty's wife in the American Dad! episode "In Country...Club." She appeared in Promoted (2015) as Sylvia Silver.
In 1952, after moving back to New York, Harris met window treatment salesman Sy Harris at a dance. Six months later, they were married.[1] They had two sons, Eric (b. 1957) and Glen (b. 1962), and a daughter Taryn (b. 1964).[1] Eric is a social worker, Glen is a music promoter who doubled as his mother's unofficial manager, and Taryn is a former Nassau County police officer retired on disability.[1] Harris also had three grandsons and one great-grandson. Once her children started school, Harris pursued acting roles, first in amateur productions, then dinner theatre and commercials.[1]
On September 20, 2001, the couple's car blew a tire and flipped twice, but they managed to escape serious injuries.[9] Sy Harris died on January 11, 2021, predeceasing his wife by one year.[10]
On April 2, 2022, Harris died of natural causes at her home in Palm Desert, California, at the age of 93.[3]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | Once Upon a Time in America | Thelma | ||
| 1988 | Stand and Deliver | Jackie Harris | ||
| 1992 | This Is My Life | Aunt Harriet | ||
| 1995 | Perfect Alibi | Aunt Dorothy | ||
| The West Side Waltz | Estelle | |||
| 1997 | Out to Sea | Bridget | ||
| 1998 | Chairman of the Board | Ms. Dawn Krubavitch | ||
| The Odd Couple II | Peaches | |||
| My Giant | Aunt Pearl | |||
| 1999 | Lost & Found | Mrs. Donna Stubblefield | ||
| Toy Story 2 | Mrs. Potato Head | Voice | ||
| 2000 | What's Cooking? | Aunt Bea | ||
| Dancing in September | Sally | |||
| Playing Mona Lisa | Aunt Velva | |||
| 2001 | Good Advice | Iris | ||
| 2003 | Brother Bear | Old Lady Bear | Voice | |
| 2004 | Home on the Range | Audrey | ||
| Teacher's Pet | Mrs. June Boogin | |||
| 2005 | Tarzan II | Mama Gunda | Voice; direct-to-video | |
| 2006 | Mrs. Catherina Duckstein | Voice | ||
| 2007 | The Grand | Ruth Melvin | ||
| 2010 | Toy Story 3 | Mrs. Potato Head | Voice | |
| Movin' In | Arlene Taylor | |||
| 2011 | Hawaiian Vacation | Mrs. Potato Head | Voice; short film | |
| Small Fry | ||||
| 2012 | Partysaurus Rex | |||
| 2013 | CBGB | Bertha Kristal | ||
| 2015 | Promoted | Sylvia Silver | ||
| 2019 | Toy Story 4 | Mrs. Potato Head | Voice; final film role |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1985–1986 | Night Court | Easy Mary | 3 episodes | |
| 1987 | Married... with Children | Delilah | Episode: "Al Loses His Cherry" | |
| 1990 | Mathnet | Agnes | Episode: "The Case of the Swami Scam" | |
| 1991 | Brooklyn Bridge | Esther Shapiro | Episode: "When Irish Eyes Are Smiling" | |
| 1992 | Law & Order | Mrs. Lynn Rachlin | Episode: "Intolerance" | |
| Mad About You | Mother Thelma | Episode: "Sofa's Choice" | ||
| 1992–1998 | Seinfeld | Estelle Costanza | 27 episodes | |
| 1993 | Good Advice | Ronnie Cohen | 5 episodes | |
| 1995 | Chicago Hope | Thelma Johnson (uncredited) | Episode: "Heartbreak" | |
| Aladdin | Additional voices | Episode: "While the City Snoozes" | ||
| Timon & Pumbaa | Timon's Mother | Voice; episode: "Mombasa-In-Law/The Laughing Hyenas: TV Dinner" | ||
| In the House | Mrs. Claus | Episode: "Christmas Story" | ||
| 1996 | Night Stand with Dick Dietrick | Mary the Real Mother | Episode: "Dick Goes Home" | |
| Lt. Kellaway's Mother (voice) | Episode: "The Mother of All Hoods" | |||
| The Tick | Arthur's Mother (voice) | Episode: "The Tick vs. Dot and Neil's Wedding" | ||
| Old Woman | Episode: "Sacred Ground" | |||
| 1997 | Moesha | Frances Howie | Episode: "Break a Leg" | |
| Living Single | Esther Brooks | Episode: "Back in the Day" | ||
| Cybill | Woman | Episode: "From Boca, with Love" | ||
| 1998 | Addams Family Reunion | Great-grandmother Delilah Addams | Television film | |
| Hercules | Phil's Mother | Voice; episode: "Hercules and the King for a Day" | ||
| The Wild Thornberrys | Iguana/Turtle | Voice; episode: "Eliza-cology" | ||
| Old Lady/Receptionist | Voice; episode: "What Dreams May Come" | |||
| The Rosie O'Donnell Show | Herself | |||
| 1999 | The Brothers Flub | Additional voices | 16 episodes | |
| Sunset Beach | Margaret Raynor | 3 episodes | ||
| The Parkers | Miss Agnes | Episode: "Scammed Straight" | ||
| 1999–2000 | Mickey Mouse Works | Mrs. Tammy Turtle | Voice; 4 episodes | |
| 2000 | Providence | Darlene | Episode: "Syd in Wonderland" | |
| 72nd Academy Awards | Mrs. Potato Head | Voice; television special | ||
| Queer Duck | Mrs. Catherina Duckstein | Voice; 5 episodes | ||
| 2001 | Sabrina, the Teenage Witch | Dora | Episode: "Sabrina, the Muse" | |
| The Kids from Room 402 | Aunt Cookie | Voice; episode: "Uncle Bonehead" | ||
| Family Guy | Death's Mother | Voice; episode: "Death Lives" | ||
| 2002 | House of Mouse | Mrs. Tammy Turtle | Voice; 4 episodes | |
| Weakest Link | Herself | 1 episode | ||
| Whammy! The All-New Press Your Luck | ||||
| 2003 | Half & Half | Grandma Sophie | Episode: "The Big Phat Mouth Episode: Part 2" | |
| Regular Joe | Aunt Mickie | Episode: "Boobysitting" | ||
| The Proud Family | Helga | Voice; episode: "Thelma and Luis" | ||
| Test the Nation | Herself | 1 episode | ||
| 2004 | Kim Possible | Mama Lipsky | Voice; 3 episodes | |
| Herself | ||||
| 2004–2005 | Dave the Barbarian | Lula | Voice; 21 episodes | |
| 2005 | Tripping the Rift | Estelle | Episode: "Roswell" | |
| Phil of the Future | Older Pim | Episode: "Maybe-Sitting" | ||
| 2005–2008 | The Suite Life of Zack & Cody | Muriel | 14 episodes | |
| 2006 | Mind of Mencia | Herself | 1 episode | |
| ER | Mrs. Dawn Markovic | Episode: "Bloodline" | ||
| 2007 | iCarly | Mrs. Lydia Halberstadt | Episode: "iScream on Halloween" | |
| The Emperor's New School | Mrs. Irma Mudka | Voice; episode: "The Emperor's New Home School/Mudka's Secret Recipe" | ||
| Case Closed | Madame | Television film | ||
| 2008 | Can You Teach My Alligator Manners? | Nana | Episode: "Nana's Visit" | |
| 2009 | American Dad! | Marty's Wife | Voice; episode: "In Country... Club" | |
| Curb Your Enthusiasm | Estelle Costanza / Herself | Episode: "The Table Read" | ||
| 2009–2010 | Made in Hollywood | Herself | 2 episodes | |
| 2009–2014 | Fanboy & Chum Chum | Oz's Mother | Voice; 11 episodes | |
| 2010 | Sonny with a Chance | Grace Gallagher | Episode: "Random Acts of Disrespect" | |
| The Bonnie Hunt Show | Herself | 1 episode | ||
| KTLA Morning News | ||||
| Totally Tracked Down | ||||
| 2011 | The Looney Tunes Show | Sylvester's Mother | Voice; episode: "Point, Laser Point" | |
| 2012 | Futurama | Velma Farnsworth | Voice; episode: "Near-Death Wish" | |
| 2013 | The Exes | Mother | Episode: "Zero Dark Forties" | |
| 2014–2015 | Jake and the Never Land Pirates | Peg-Leg Peg | Voice; 3 episodes |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1976, 1979 | Funny Girl | Mrs. Strakosh | Dayton Memorial Hall[11] | |
| 1977 | Fiddler on the Roof | Yente | ||
| 1979 | Funny Girl | Mrs. Strakosh | An Evening Dinner Theatre | |
| 1982–1983 | The Desert Song | Susan | Darien Dinner Theatre | |
| 1995 | Annie Warbucks | Commissioner Harriet Doyle | Frauenthal Center for the Performing Arts |