( CNN ) -- Bea Arthur , the actress best known for her roles as television 's `` Maude '' and the sardonic Dorothy on `` The Golden Girls , '' has died of cancer , a family spokesman said Saturday . Bea Arthur , right , with `` Golden Girls '' co-star Rue McClanahan in June 2008 . She was 86 . Spokesman Dan Watt said that Arthur died Saturday morning at her home in Los Angeles , her family by her side . She is survived by her sons Matthew and Daniel and grandchildren Kyra and Violet , he said . No funeral services are currently planned , Watt said , adding that the family asked that donations be made to either the Art Attack Foundation or PETA in lieu of flowers . Arthur 's opinionated Maude first appeared on Norman Lear 's `` All in the Family '' as Edith Bunker 's cousin , and was so popular that Lear created a spin-off series . In the '70s , `` Maude '' was ahead of the social curve , tackling hot topics not usually mentioned on situation comedies -- pornography , race relations and , in an episode titled `` Maude 's Dilemma , '' abortion . That episode spawned demonstrations and generated hate mail for Arthur -- when Maude and husband Walter ( Bill Macy ) decided on that episode they were too old to raise a child . But many saw Maude as an enduring icon for women 's liberation -- a big deal for the shy , Jewish girl born Bernice Frankel in New York City . During the Depression , Arthur 's family left the Big Apple and opened a clothing store in Cambridge , Maryland . By the time she was 12 , Arthur was nearly 5 feet , 10 inches tall , and self-conscious about her height . But she masked her insecurity with comedy and eventually returned to New York to study acting . Along the way , she had a short-lived marriage she never spoke about , but she kept the last name -- Arthur . The young Bea Arthur earned a living singing and doing stage work on Broadway and off-Broadway . Critics delighted in her haughty , serpent-tongued deliveries . Her first television appearance came in 1951 in a long-forgotten series called `` Once Upon a Tune , '' but she quickly made a name for herself with appearances on `` Studio One , '' `` Kraft Television Theatre '' and `` The Sid Caesar Show . '' Arthur drew attention in `` Threepenny Opera '' on Broadway with Lotte Lenya , but she really turned heads in 1964 originating the role of Yente the Matchmaker in `` Fiddler on the Roof . '' In 1966 , Arthur won a Tony Award for the caustic Vera Charles in the play `` Mame , '' playing opposite Angela Lansbury in the title role . Eight years later , she reprised the role in the film version opposite Lucille Ball , but by then she was already well-established as Maude . Arthur left `` Maude '' in 1978 , making television and some film appearances afterward . She starred in a short-lived series , `` Amanda 's , '' in 1983 and then joined the cast of `` The Golden Girls '' in 1985 with Betty White , Rue McClanahan and Estelle Getty . Her role as Dorothy Zbornak gave Arthur her other major television success as one of four older women living together in Florida . ( Getty played Arthur 's mother ) . The role earned Arthur a second Emmy -- the first was for `` Maude . '' Arthur left the show after Dorothy remarried at the end of the 1991-92 season . White , McClanahan and Getty continued for another season on the show , renamed `` The Golden Palace , '' but the show lasted only one season without Arthur . Arthur entered semi-retirement after the show ended in 1992 , returning to television in sporadic guest appearances and appearing at several celebrity roasts . In the early part of this decade , Arthur appeared in several one-woman shows . Her last stage appearance was in 2006 . Her last television appearance was on `` The View '' in 2007 .
Actress Jean Arthur dies of cancer at age 86 , she says . ` ` Maude , '' ` ` Golden Globe '' star was at home with family in Los Angeles . She is survived by two children and grandchildren .