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8 golden facts about this Golden Girl: Rue McClanahan
Blanche had the one-liners. Rue had the resume.
The Everett Collection
Turns out, Blanche wasn’t the only interesting woman in the room!
Most fans know Rue McClanahan as the unforgettable Blanche Devereaux, but there was much more to the actress than her Golden Girls alter ego.
From Broadway to animal activism and a few unexpected surprises, McClanahan was an icon both on and off the screen. Take a look at these fun facts about Rue McClanahan.
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Weeknights at 10 PM, Sundays at 6 PM & 8 PM
*available in most MeTV markets1. Before acting, she was already building an impressive resume
Before her acting career, Rue McClanahan had an eclectic and impressive college resume.
She graduated from the University of Tulsa with a joint degree in German and theater arts, but her interests didn’t stop there...
She was the only woman in the school’s science club and also joined the Kappa Alpha Theta sorority, proving that long before she became Blanche Devereaux, McClanahan was already breaking a few stereotypes.
2. Before Blanche, she was on Broadway
Before she became Blanche Devereaux on The Golden Girls, Rue McClanahan was already a seasoned stage and television actress.
She made her Broadway debut in 1969 in Jimmy Shine, opposite Dustin Hoffman, before catching Norman Lear’s attention.
Lear cast her in All in the Family and later Maude, giving McClanahan an early television showcase that helped pave the way for her iconic role on The Golden Girls.
3. Blanche Devereaux was no one-hit wonder
Rue McClanahan loved the character so much she played Blanche Devereaux across four different TV series, making the character one of TV's most famous and long standing characters.
At times, fans couldn't tell the difference between her and the character she played so often. Then again, neither could Blanche.
Blanche first appeared on The Golden Girls before turning up on Empty Nest, Nurses and The Golden Palace. From Miami to the halls of a hospital, Rue kept Blanche with her wherever she went.
4. Rue could have been Rose instead of Blanche
Rue McClanahan almost played a very different role on The Golden Girls!
Before landing the part of Blanche Devereaux, she was considered for the role of Rose Nylund, the sweet and somewhat naive character who ultimately went to Betty White.
McClanahan and White had already worked together on The Mary Tyler Moore Show and Mama’s Family, but their eventual Golden Girls roles gave them a very different dynamic.
Could you imagine Rue McClanahan as anyone else? Frankly, Blanche wouldn’t have allowed it.
5. Blanche’s closet wasn’t just for the show
Rue McClanahan didn’t just play Blanche Devereaux, she took a piece of Blanche home with her.
She kept almost every outfit she wore on The Golden Girls and reportedly wore many of them as part of her everyday wardrobe after filming.
It seems Blanche’s fabulous fashion sense didn’t clock out when the cameras stopped rolling.
6. Rue was an activist and animal advocate
She was an activist and animal lover who worked tirelessly to give animals a voice.
A dedicated animal rights activist and vegan, she served as an honorary director of PETA for nearly three decades.She became one of the organization’s earliest Hollywood supporters, even recruiting fellow Golden Girls stars Bea Arthur and Betty White to join her in an anti-fur public service announcement filmed on the set of the show.
McClanahan also appeared in campaigns promoting animal adoption and spaying and neutering, and she once helped push for legislation to outlaw cockfighting in New Mexico.
Blanche had a way with the fellas, but Rue had a way with four-legged friends.
7. Rue's love life became a bestseller
Rue McClanahan turned her colorful romantic history into a bestselling memoir, My First Five Husbands...And the Ones Who Got Away.
Published in 2007, the book became a New York Times bestseller and offered a candid, often humorous look at her five marriages, career and life in Hollywood.
With a title like that, Blanche Devereaux would surely have approved.
8. She took home an Emmy for Blanche
Rue McClanahan won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for playing Blanche Devereaux on The Golden Girls.
She received the award in 1987, beating out fellow nominees including Bea Arthur, Betty White and Jane Curtin.
Blanche may have been the last of the Golden Girls to settle down, but Rue was the first of the four to take home an Emmy for the role.
She was nominated four times in total:
- 1987: Won, The Golden Girls
- 1986: Nominated, The Golden Girls
- 1988: Nominated, The Golden Girls
- 1989: Nominated, The Golden Girls
