Estelle Harris

Estelle Harris (née Nussbaum; April 22, 1928 – April 2, 2022) was an American actress, known for her exaggerated 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.

Early life and education

Estelle Nussbaum was born in Manhattan on April 22, 1928, the younger of two daughters of Isaac ("Ira") and Anna Nussbaum, Polish Jewish immigrants who owned a candy store. She moved to Tarentum, Pennsylvania, when she was seven years old to live near her aunt and uncle, who asked her father to work in their candy store. She graduated from Tarentum High School.

Career

After her children grew up, Harris pursued acting and achieved early success in television commercials, even logging 23 spots in a year at one point. One of her most-famous commercials had her energetically singing 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. She became widely known for her supporting role as Estelle Costanza on Seinfeld. In Star Trek: Voyager, she portrayed the Old Woman who was actually a projection of the Nechani Spirits, in the third-season Voyager 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 (1999), she provided the voice of Mrs. Potato Head and would continue to reprise the role for 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." Harris reprised her role of Mrs. Potato Head in Toy Story 3 (2010). 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). She also provided the voice of Marty's wife in the American Dad! episode "In Country...Club."[citation needed]

Harris reprised her role of Mrs. Potato Head in Toy Story 4 (2019), which was her final film role.

Personal life and death

In 1952, Harris met window treatment salesman Sy Harris at a dance. Six months later, they were married.[2] They had two sons, Eric (born 1957) and Glen (born 1961); and a daughter, Taryn (born 1964).[2] 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 died on January 11, 2021.

Harris died at her home in Palm Desert, California, on April 2, 2022, at the age of 93, twenty days before her 94th birthday.