With her tall, rangy frame and distinctive, husky voice, actress Bea Arthur has never been anyone's idea of a starlet. However, using her dry humor and impeccable comic timing coupled with an exceptional comfort with her body, she has created some of the most memorable strong female characters on television, in film, and on the musical stage.

Arthur was born Bernice Frankel in New York City and grew up, the daughter of department store owners, in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Her first attempts on the stage as a torch singer failed when, as she said, "Audiences laughed when I sang about throwing myself in the river because my man got away." Her imposing height and deep voice suited her better for comedy, she decided, and she honed her skills doing sketch comedy at resorts in the Poconos. In 1954 she got her first big break when she...