Thrifted “Golden Girls” Bag Sells for Nearly $200K
Estelle Getty’s handbag from “The Golden Girls,” originally purchased at a thrift store, sold to a superfan for almost $200,000.
Ever since its original run from 1985 to 1992, “The Golden Girls” has shown generations that getting older doesn’t mean an end to fun. Dorothy (Bea Arthur), Blanche (Rue McClanahan), Rose (Betty White), and Sophia (Estelle Getty) had active social lives, pursued romance, faced controversial topics head-on, and, above all, dressed to impress. The show was a visual feast of 1980s style, and one of its most iconic accessories, Sophia Petrillo’s handbag, carried from her first scene in the pilot to the final episode, just sold for $192,000 at Julien’s Auctions, setting a record for “Golden Girls” collectibles.
The auction, billed as “Ladies of the ‘80s,” offered 320 lots of television and movie memorabilia, fashion, and personal collections belonging to era-defining actresses like Joan Collins, star of “Dynasty;” Linda Gray from “Dallas;” Loni Anderson of “WKRP in Cincinnati;” and more, including Ann-Margaret, Lynda Carter, and Farrah Fawcett. In a testimony to the lasting love for “The Golden Girls,” the simple straw handbag stood out among the autographed scripts, glittering jewelry, and Bob Mackie costume sketches to reach what was by far the top-selling price of the auction. Its $192,000 final price comes to more than 12 times its $15,000 high estimate.
The anonymous buyer described herself to Women’s Wear Daily as “just a girl from West Virginia who is a huge ‘Golden Girls’ fan.” She recalls watching it with her grandmother and has a replica of the purse that her boyfriend bought for her. “I even have a ‘Golden Girls’ tattoo on my arm.”
“Golden Girls” mania goes beyond tattoos, collectibles, and extravagant prices for props. A quick online search brings up a fan site, an in-depth look at the show’s fashion, and even a guide to the show and its approach to social issues at a university library,
Julien’s calls the handbag “likely the show’s most famous prop.” A limited-edition 25th anniversary DVD was packaged in a box shaped like it. Estelle Getty carried the same purse in her appearances on the 1992 spin-off show “The Golden Palace.” The bag was seen as such an important part of Sophia’s character that Rosie O’Donnell asked Getty about it in a 1996 interview. Getty explained that, when older people are moved out of their homes, they keep their most important possessions in a handbag, so “putting down the purse is like putting down your life.”
Estelle Getty brought a personal touch to Sophia’s look, picking out the purse, along with a polyester dress, straw hat, and gloves, herself. Described by her manager Juliet Green as “the quintessential bargain shopper,” she purchased them all at a thrift store. Getty kept the purse after “The Golden Palace” ended, storing Sophia’s wig and a pair of her glasses inside.
The purse previously sold at Bonham’s with other items from Getty’s estate in 2009. Its original buyer consigned it to the Julien’s auction, where it came with a redacted copy of the digital receipt. Getty’s personal assistant Richard Weaver further identified the purse as the original used on “The Golden Girls,” pointing to the 1960s-1970s hardware, missing beads on the handle, and a small repair on one clasp.
Additional “Golden Girls” memorabilia from the auction include cast-signed scripts (the scripts for “Rose’s Big Adventure,” owned by Bea Arthur, and for the final episode, inscribed to stage manager Jeffrey N. Jacobs, each sold for $19,200), a director’s chair (at $7,680, an impressive price but a far cry from Betty White’s chair that sold for $76,800 in 2022) and an embossed gold-tone paperweight shaped like the number 4 that was a gift from cast to crew for the show’s fourth season ($1,920).
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