24 Photos of the Golden Girls Before They Were the Golden Girls

Betty was such a, well, a Betty! She’s giving off major bombshell vibes in this striped shirt in the mid ’50s.

We doubt St. Olaf would have known what to do with a fabulous spitfire and style icon such as Betty.

Betty’s makeup is flawless in this promo shot for the aptly-named Betty White Show.

White was the hostess with the mostess. Here she’s seen narrating the 80th Annual Tournament of Roses Parade, but she also frequently gave a play-by-play of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade as well.

Allen Ludden and Betty White are major couple goals. Don’t believe it? Go find some old episodes of Password and see these two in action.

Known for playing some more serious characters, its nice to see Bea Arthur looking so jovial.

Not sure exactly why Bea Arthur was strutting her stuff in this all-black ensemble, but you’ve gotta love that runway style.

Before she became sweet Rose, White starred as the perky, sexy and mischievous Sue Ann Nivens on The Mary Tyler Moore Show. Sue Ann hosted the “The Happy Homemaker”, and flirted her way through all the single men in Minneapolis.

Belting it out as boozy actress Vera Charles in the film Mame. If you catch the film she sings a fun and brutally honest duet, “Bosom Buddies,” with Lucille Ball.

Here Arthur is pictured in her other famed role Maude Findlay, the much-married, super opinionated feminist icon who guest starred on the show All in the Family before getting her own CBS spinoff Maude.

No, this isn’t a flashback scene from Golden Girls, this is a pic from the series Maude, that starred Arthur, and featured appearances by McClanahan as her neighbor.

Could Rue be any cuter? Seriously, this headshot is just adorable.

Anyone who was anyone took a trip on The Love Boat, and McClanahan took multiple cruises. Here she’s playing April on an episode from season 2.

Almost unrecognizable in this wig, McClanahan starred on the short lived series Apple Pie on ABC which only aired two episodes before getting canceled.

All glammed up for the Iris Awards banquet.

Arthur sporting a casual candid look at an Actors and Others for Animals celebrity fair at the Columbia Ranch in Burbank, California.

Another spin on The Love Boat, as a completely different character, partnering up with former Mary Tyler Moore star Ted Knight.

At the 3rd Annual Media Awards, McClanahan and Arthur chatted during a smoking break (yes, that was a big thing back in the ’80s) along with Dick Maury.

This short lived game show aired in 1983, and Betty White hosted this show where women had to predict answers from male celebrity contestants.

Before they took their iconic Golden Girls roles, White and McClanahan worked together on the sitcom Mama’s Family, that starred Vickie Lawrence.

Yes, she took another sail on The Love Boat, and this time was a friend of Captain Stubing (played by Mary Tyler Moore alum Gavin MacLeod).

Since Getty was primarily a theater actress working in smaller roles before she got cast as Sophia, there aren’t a lot of pics of her pre-Sophia. But given that Getty was actually about 20 years younger than her character, seeing her out of costume is always a bit of a surprise as she looks so youthful. Here she is at an event with actor Allen Garfield during the early days of The Golden Girls.

Out of Sophia garb, she’s got style and isn’t telling stories about Italy. Here she is at an AIDS Fashion Show with actor Brian Maggart. Fun fact: Maggart is Fiona Apple’s father.

Thank you for being our friends, ladies. This picture from during the show’s run was taken at the 46th Annual Golden Apple Awards.