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American actress Estelle Harris, best known for playing Mrs. Costanza in Seinfeld, passed away at the age of 93 on April 2, 2022. The news of her demise was confirmed by her son Glen Harris to The Hollywood Reporter:
“It is with the greatest remorse and sadness to announce that Estelle Harris has passed on this evening at 6:25 PM. Her kindness, passion, sensitivity, humor, empathy and love were practically unrivaled, and she will be terribly missed by all those who knew her.”
It was also mentioned that the actress died of natural causes at her home in Palm Desert, California. Harris was diagnosed with cancer in 2013, but she previously told TMZ that doctors “got it all out.”
In addition to her iconic role in Seinfeld, Harris also gained immense love for lending her voice to Mrs. Potato Head in the Toy Story franchise.
She has also appeared as a voice artist in Tarzan II, Timon & Pumbaa, Dave the Barbarian, The Family Guy, Mickey Mouse Works, Home on the Range, Futurama and Kim Possible.
A look into Estelle Harris’ character in Seinfeld
Estelle Harris played the role of Estelle Costanza in the popular American sitcom Seinfeld. Mrs. Costanza first appeared on the show in the Emmy Award-winning 1992 episode titled The Contest.
Mrs. Constanza was the overbearing and stereotypical wife of Frank Costanza and mother of George Costanza. Over the course of six seasons, the character became known for her love-hate relationship with her husband Frank and her constant tirades and sarcastic insults at the expense of her son George.
While speaking to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette in 1998, Harris defined Estelle Costanza as the “mother that everybody loves, even though she’s a "pain in the neck."
In another old interview with CTVN, Harris said “nobody had a past” like Mrs. Costanza:
“I mean, that poor woman. She lived in that apartment that they got married in with the same furniture and the same husband and one son that was a loser. I mean, she had everything bad! I thought it was funny.”
Harris also spoke about her character to The Canadian Press in 2012 and said she loved receiving recognition from younger fans in recent years:
“In the last year or two, all of a sudden these youngsters recognize me as Mrs. Costanza, Estelle Costanza. So we have a whole new age group, and I'm getting a lot of fan mail from these young people, too. I think 'Seinfeld,' because of the writing and the right cast, will go on for years and years.”
Estelle Harris was cast as Mrs. Costanza in the fourth season of Seinfeld. Her last appearance as the character was on the final episode of the show titled The Finale in 1998.
Twitter mourns the loss of Estelle Harris
With a film and TV career spanning more than four decades, Estelle Harris has over 100 acting credits to her name. She began her career in the entertainment industry with a minor role in the 1977 film Looking Up and made her final film appearance in 2019’s Toy Story 4.
Following the news of her demise, several people took to Twitter to mourn the loss of the veteran actress:
As tributes continue to pour in online, it is certain Harris will be missed by her family, friends and fans. However, her legacy will be cherished by contemporaries and future generations alike.
Harris is survived by her three children, Eric, Glen and Taryn, as well as her three grandsons and a great-grandson.
