Blanche Devereaux is a character from the sitcom television series The Golden Girls, and its spin-off The Golden Palace. Blanche was portrayed by Rue McClanahan for 8 years and 204 episodes across the two series. The character was inspired by Blanche DuBois (to whom Blanche Devereaux is compared in the pilot script) and Scarlett O'Hara. McClanahan had previously co-starred with Beatrice Arthur in Maude and with Betty White in the first two seasons of Mama's Family. In pre-production, producers had planned for White (who was already well known for playing the man-hungry character Sue Ann Nivens) to play Blanche, but neither White nor McClanahan wanted to be typecast, and the two roles were eventually switched by producers. Family Blanche Elizabeth Marie Hollingsworth grew up near Atlanta, Georgia, at her family's plantation, Twin Oaks. Her parents were the late Elizabeth-Ann Margaret Bennett (later seasons named her "Samantha Roquet") (Helen Kleeb) and Curtis "Big Daddy" Hollingsworth (first Murray Hamilton and, after Hamilton died, David Wayne), the latter a revered man in his neck of the woods. Much to young Blanche's dismay, her father married a young widow named Margaret Spencer (Sondra Currie) years after Blanche's mother died, but she begrudgingly accepted the marriage. As a young child, she had a mammy (nanny) named Viola Watkins (Ruby Dee) who took care of her before abruptly leaving one day. After her father's death, she learned that he and Viola had been secret lovers for many years and Viola left their family after Blanche's mother found out. Blanche is a member of "the Alpha Gams" (Alpha Gamma Delta), but which university she attended is not known. On a few occasions, Blanche states that she is of the Baptist faith. She is proud of her status as a Southern debutante, but was shocked to learn, when tracing her family history, that she had a New York born Jewish great-grandmother which prevented her from joining the Daughters of the Old South. Blanche is the third of five Hollingsworth children. Charmaine Hollingsworth (Barbara Babcock) is the spoiled oldest sister, who infuriated Blanche when she wrote a sordid novel Blanche thought was about her. When it was revealed that the book was about Charmaine and not Blanche, they made up and apologized to each other. The next youngest sibling is Blanche's brother Tad. Blanche's sister Virginia Hollingsworth Warren (Sheree North), with whom Blanche shares a mutual loathing, is one