Rue McClanahan would be the stand-out star in any production lucky enough to feature her presence. However, ask her about it, and she was just another gear in the machine. While her talents made her an undeniable force on screen and stage, McClanahan contended that it was the responsibility of the entire cast to ensure that each project was greater than the sum of its parts.

The Golden Girls may be the show for which she's best remembered, but Rue McClanahan had decades of interesting roles before becoming a rerun mainstay. She spent years honing her craft, first at Manhattan's Actors Studio, and then at the Erie Playhouse in Pennsylvania. She made her Broadway debut in 1969, starring alongside Dustin Hoffman in the play Jimmy Shine.

Stints on All in the Family and Maude further prepared her for her Deveraux destiny. By the time Golden Girls launched in the mid-80s, McClanahan had one of the most enviable résumés in all of show business. And while those credits surely helped position her as the ready-packaged icon and Southern belle of our TV dreams, she never considered that she might be a star.

Watch The Golden Girls on MeTV!

BACK-TO-BACK EPISODES

Weeknights at 10 PM, Sundays at 6 PM & 8 PM

*available in most MeTV markets

In a 1993 interview with the New Brunswick, Canada Daily Gleaner, McClanahan cited her theater background, where, as she said, "the concept of who is the star is not really important. Each person is an important part of the whole production."

Sure, Blanche might be your favorite. But the truth is that she was made all the better by her scene partners. That level of trust comes through in the onscreen chemistry. These four were masters of the screen, and Rue McClanahan was content in being part of the ensemble.