Estelle Harris
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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 ''Seinfeld'' ( ) is an American television sitcom created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld that originally aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, with a total of nine seasons consisting of List of Seinfeld episodes, 180 episodes. It ...
''. 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.


Early life and education

Harris was born Estelle Nussbaum in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of
Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...
, 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. In 1935, when Harris was seven years old, the family relocated to Tarentum, Pennsylvania. She graduated from Tarentum High School.


Career

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 Madison Avenue is a north-south avenue in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, New York, that carries northbound one-way traffic. It runs from Madison Square (at 23rd Street) to meet the southbound Harlem River Drive at 142nd Stree ...
, appearing in 25 national television commercials. In one commercial, she energetically sang the praises of Handi-Wrap II. 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 New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
. She became widely known for her supporting role as Estelle Costanza on ''
Seinfeld ''Seinfeld'' ( ) is an American television sitcom created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld that originally aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, with a total of nine seasons consisting of List of Seinfeld episodes, 180 episodes. It ...
''. "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 '' Star Trek: Voyager'', she appeared in the third-season episode " Sacred Ground", which aired on October 20, 1996. She played a small role as Bridget in '' Out to Sea'' (1997). In ''
Toy Story 2 ''Toy Story 2'' is a 1999 American animated adventure comedy film produced by Pixar Animation Studios, and the first sequel to Toy Story. It is the second installment in the Toy Story (franchise), ''Toy Story'' franchise and was directed by J ...
'' (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 Brad Douglas Paisley (born October 28, 1972) is an American country music singer, songwriter, and guitarist. His first success came in 1997 as the writer of David Kersh's "Another You (David Kersh song), Another You". After this, he signed with ...
's music video for the song "Online." Harris reprised her role of Mrs. Potato Head in ''
Toy Story 3 ''Toy Story 3'' is a 2010 American animated comedy-drama film produced by Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures. The third installment in the Toy Story (franchise), ''Toy Story'' series, it was directed by Lee Unkrich, the editor ...
'' (2010) and ''
Toy Story 4 ''Toy Story 4'' is a 2019 American animated comedy-drama film produced by Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures. It is the fourth installment in Pixar's ''Toy Story'' series and the sequel to ''Toy Story 3'' (2010). It was dire ...
'' (2019), the latter of which was her final film role. She portrayed Bertha Kristal, the mother of
CBGB CBGB was a New York City music club opened in 1973 by Hilly Kristal in the East Village, Manhattan, East Village in Manhattan, New York City. The club was previously a biker bar and before that was a dive bar. The letters ''CBGB'' were for ''Cou ...
founder Hilly Kristal, in ''
CBGB CBGB was a New York City music club opened in 1973 by Hilly Kristal in the East Village, Manhattan, East Village in Manhattan, New York City. The club was previously a biker bar and before that was a dive bar. The letters ''CBGB'' were for ''Cou ...
'' (2013). Her other voice work included Lula in '' Dave the Barbarian'', Mama Lipsky in ''
Kim Possible ''Kim Possible'' is an American animated Action comedy TV series, action comedy television series created by Bob Schooley and Mark McCorkle for Disney Channel. The Kim Possible (character), title character is a teenage girl tasked with saving ...
'', Thelma in ''
The Proud Family ''The Proud Family'' is an American animated sitcom created by Bruce W. Smith that aired on Disney Channel for two seasons from September 15, 2001, to August 19, 2005. The series centers on the life of the titular family, including the show’s ...
'', Mrs. Turtle in '' Mickey Mouse Works'' and ''
House of Mouse ''Disney's House of Mouse'' (or simply ''House of Mouse'') is an American animated television series produced by Walt Disney Television Animation that originally aired on American Broadcasting Company, ABC and Toon Disney from January 13, 2001 ...
'',
Death Death is the end of life; the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain a living organism. Death eventually and inevitably occurs in all organisms. The remains of a former organism normally begin to decompose sh ...
's mother in ''
Family Guy ''Family Guy'' is an American animated sitcom created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series premiered on January 31, 1999, following Super Bowl XXXIII, with the rest of the first season airing from April 11, 1999. Th ...
'', the Old Lady Bear in ''
Brother Bear ''Brother Bear'' is a 2003 American animated musical fantasy comedy-drama film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures. It was directed by Aaron Blaise and Robert Walker and produced by Chuck Williams, f ...
'' (2003), and Audrey in '' Home on the Range'' (2004). She also provided the voice of Marty's wife in the ''
American Dad! ''American Dad!'' is an American animated sitcom created by Seth MacFarlane, Mike Barker (producer), Mike Barker and Matt Weitzman for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series premiered on February 6, 2005, following Super Bowl XXXIX, with the r ...
'' episode " In Country...Club." She appeared in '' Promoted'' (2015) as Sylvia Silver.


Personal life and death

In 1952, after moving back to New York, Harris met window treatment salesman Sy Harris at a dance. They married six months later. They had two sons, Eric (b. 1957) and Glen (b. 1962), and a daughter Taryn (b. 1964). 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. 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. On September 20, 2001, the couple's car blew a tire and flipped twice, but they managed to escape serious injuries. Sy Harris died on January 11, 2021, predeceasing his wife by one year. On April 2, 2022, Harris died of natural causes at her home in Palm Desert, California, at the age of 93.


Filmography


Film


Television


Video games


Theatre


References


External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Harris, Estelle 1928 births 2022 deaths 20th-century American actresses 20th-century American comedians 21st-century American actresses 21st-century American comedians Actresses from Manhattan American film actresses American musical theatre actresses American people of Polish-Jewish descent American television actresses American voice actresses American women comedians Comedians from Pennsylvania Jewish American actresses Jewish American comedians Jewish women comedians People from Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan People from Tarentum, Pennsylvania Comedians from Manhattan