Actress Estelle Getty passed away Tuesday, just days before she would have turned 85, after a long battle with advanced dementia surrounded by her family and caregivers.

Known for her role as the wisecracking Sophia Petrillo in U.S. sitcom "Golden Girls," Estrelle Getty would have turned 85 on Friday. She had been suffering from advanced dementia leading up to her death.

"She was loved throughout the world in six continents, and if they loved sitcoms in Antarctica she would have been loved on seven continents," her son Carl Gettleman said.

According to a statement posted on the actress' website by her longtime caregiver Paul Chapdelaine, the actress died on July 22, 2008 at 5:35 a.m.

"Estelle's legacy will live on and on through the comedy and laughter she gave to us all, which will forever keep us laughing out loud," the statement said.

"For us here, who have known and cared for her for so many years, we've lost our dear little friend who always kept us entertained by filling our days with joyful laughter. Estelle's fans across the globe have lost the feisty little lady known as Sophia Petrillo, whose quick wit, cutting remarks, and outrageous punch lines will forever be quoted and remembered," the statement added.

Before her sitcom career, the actress got her start in Yiddish theater, but didn't break out until 1981, when she played Harvey Fierstein's mother in the Broadway play "Torch Song Trilogy."

Her movie credits also include small roles in "Tootsie" (1982) and "Mask" (1985). In 1985 she started playing the sarcastic, fast-talking mother of Bea Arthur's character on "The Golden Girls," which was an instant hit and quickly became a staple of NBC's Saturday night lineup.

Upon hearing the sad news, Bea Arthur said "Our mother-daughter relationship was one of the greatest comic duo's ever, and I will miss her."

Getty later reprised the role of Sophia on "The Golden Girls" spinoff "The Golden Palace" (1992), and played the part of Grandma Estelle Little in the film "Stuart Little" (1999). She received six Emmy Award nominations and won the prize in 1988.
In 2000, she stopped making public appearances after revealing that she had Parkinson's Disease and osteoporosis. By 2002, it was revealed to the media that she is also suffering from Alzheimer's Disease but it was later discovered that she actually has Lewy Body Dementia, and both the Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diagnoses were incorrect.