American voice actress, comedienne, and TV actress Estelle Harris is famous for her unique scratchy and high-pitched voice, and is acclaimed for her roles in the “Toy Story” franchise, “The Suite Life of Zack & Cody” and “Seinfeld” among other films.
Age, Early Life, and Education Background
Born Estelle Nussbaum under the Aries zodiac sign on 4 April 1928, in Manhattan, New York City USA, Harris is 94 years old as of 2022. She was born to Isaac ‘Ira’ Nussbaum and Anna Nussbaum who were Polish-Jews and was raised together with her elder sister, Minnie Harris. When she turned seven, her family moved to Tarentum, Pennsylvania, to live near her aunt and uncle, where her parents then opened a candy store.
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Estelle attended Tarentum High School – it’s unclear whether she went to college to further her studies.
Facts
Estelle and her husband narrowly escaped serious injury on 20 September 2001 after their car flipped twice in Los Angeles following a tire burst.
Harris made headlines in 2013 after she revealed to the public that she had survived cancer. Although she didn’t state the type of cancer she had, she assured her fans that she had undergone all the required treatments successfully.
She was good friends with her on-screen husband, Jerry Stiller (in “Seinfeld”), who sadly passed away in 2020 at the age of 92. They were once named the best on-screen parents.
Career
Before she made her career breakthrough as an actress, Estelle made many appearances in commercials and popular adverts – she caught the public’s attention when she featured in Handi-Wrap II commercial in 1983 – her rising fame saw her selected to appear in close to 23 commercials in just a year.
Career Beginning and Film Appearances
Being a devoted mother, Harris didn’t pursue professional acting until all her children were grown-ups. She made her film debut in 1977 with the role of Irma in the Doris Belack and Dick Shawn-starring comedy “Looking Up”, before she played a small role in the film “Summerdog” in the same year. She then took a break, and made a comeback in 1984 with a minor role in the Sergio Leone-created crime drama “Once Upon a time in America,” which starred James Woods and Robert De Niro. Before 1990, she landed support roles in various films, including 1988’s “Stand and Deliver.”
In 1995, Estelle portrayed Aunt Dorothy in “Perfect Alibi”, before appearing in the sports comedy “Downhill Willie” as Mama Saxer in the year that followed. She is credited with her starring role as Bridget in the comedy “Out To Sea,” (1997) alongside Gloria DeHaven and Donald O’Connor, and was then selected to play Ms Krubavitch in the Alex Zamm-directed comedy “Chairman Of The Board” in 1998.
In 2010, she starred in “Movin’ In” together with Arlene Taylor, and three years later, she appeared in the biographical drama “CBGB”; one of her most recent film roles is in the comedy “Promoted” in 2015.
Continued Success and TV Series Appearances
1985 saw Estelle landing her first role in TV series, in the NBC sitcom “Night Court.” In 1992, she was selected to play one of her most significant roles in the NBC sitcom “Seinfeld”, assigned the recurring role of Estelle Costanza, which she played until the series ended six years later in 1998; her praised performance saw her nominated for an Online Film & Television Association (OFTA) Award in the category of the Best Guest Actress/Actor in a Comedy series in 1998. In 1993, Estelle landed the role of Ronnie in the sitcom “Good Advice,” which aired on CBS.
Harris next appeared in the American teen sitcom “iCarly”, playing Mrs Lydia Halberstadt. The show aired on Nickelodeon from 2007 to 2012, and featured Nathan Kress, Jennette McCurdy, Jerry Trainer and several other stars, and was created by TV producer Dan Schneider. It is about a teenager, Carly Shay (played by Mirinda Cosgrove), who comes up with a web show named iCarly together with her best friends Sam Puckett (Jennette) and Freddie Benson (Nathan).
Voice Projects
In addition to Harris’ successful on-screen appearances, she has made a name for herself as a skilled voice actress.
She began voice acting in the mid-‘90s, voicing a character in the series “Timon & Pumbaa.” in 1999, she voiced additional characters in Nickelodeon’s series “The Brothers Flub”, before she landed a role in the highly rated comedy movie “Toy Story 2” (1999), which was a commercial success, grossing more than $500 million worldwide while its budget was $90 million. In 1999 and 2000, she lent her voice to Mrs Turtle in Disney’s series “Mickey Mouse Works” and its spin-off “House of Mouse,” which aired in 2002. She is also credited with voicing a character in Channel 4/Showtime adult animated series “Queer Duck” in 2002.
She landed a guest-starring role in an episode of the popular adult animated show “Family Guy,” which airs on Fox, and in the following years, she did voice-overs in the 2003 film “Brother Bear,” “Teacher’s Pet” in 2004, and subsequently has also lent her voice to several other animated films and series, such as “Dave the Barbarian,” “Tarzan II: The Legend begins” in 2005, and Nickelodeon’s series “Fanboy & Chum Chum.”
The Manhattan-born star reprised her role of Ms Potato Head in “Toy story 3” and “Toy Story 4” in 2010 and 2019 respectively, and also lent her voice in several other short animated films, such as “Toy Story Toons: Small Fry” and “Toy Story Toons: Hawaiian Vacation” both in 2011.
Personal Life and Husband
Estelle is now a widow having been married to Sy Harris for nearly 68 years. She met him at a dance and they began dating soon afterward – they tied the knot six months later and their wedding ceremony was held in mid-1953, attended by close friends and family. They welcomed a daughter Taryn Harris in 1964 – she previously retired on disability after serving as a Nassau County police officer for a couple of years – and two sons, Eric, a social worker born in 1957, and Glen Harris, who is her unofficial manager and a music promoter.
Sy was a window salesman and an actor, who made an appearance in the 1960 film “Destiny, West!”, and 1995’s “Night Stand.” He passed away on 11 January 2021. Estelle is presently residing in West Hollywood, California, after relocating from Port Washington in New York.
Height, Weight, and Appearance
Estelle is of white roots, and has dark brown eyes and gray hair. She is 5ft 3ins (1.64m) tall and weighs around 142lbs (65kgs).
Net Worth
Harris is a famous entertainer who actively contributed to the entertainment industry with close to 100 film roles, having been in the industry for more than 42 years. She garnered massive popularity, and accumulated a net worth of approximately $5.5 million as of mid-2022, according to authoritative sources.
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