As a young child, she had a mammy (nanny) named Viola Watkins (Ruby Dee) who took care of her before abruptly leaving one day.

She is proud of her status as a Southern debutante, but was shocked to learn, when tracing her family history, that she had a New York-born Jewish great-grandmother[a] which prevented her from joining the Daughters of the Old South.

However, their relationship became strained once more after their argument following Big Daddy's death, in which Virginia accused Blanche of being too selfish and self-centered to say goodbye to their father.

[3][4] Blanche also has a promiscuous niece named Lucy Warren (Hallie Todd) (Virginia's daughter), who visits her during the first season.

George died (in a car accident) in either 1981 or 1982, three or four years before the start of the series in 1985, and at some point earlier they had moved from Atlanta to Miami.

During Blanche's senior year in high school, Christmas 1949, when she was 17, she almost eloped with Deck Boughvenlough, the father of her rival at cheerleading with the sole purpose of having the other girl taken off the squad.

Blanche overcame her apprehension of dating Ted, who was in a wheelchair, only to find out he was married, so she terminated the relationship because she has never been the "other woman" in extramarital affairs and never wanted to be.

Jake (Donnelly Rhodes) was perfect and wanted to marry her; he was charming and romantic, but Blanche found him a little 'rough around the edges' compared to the gentlemanly types she usually dated.

Unlike Blanche, who feared commitment and having another man die on her, when Karen heard of Steven's illness, she went right to his side when he needed someone.

Blanche dated a blind man, John Quinn (Edward Winter) and considered breaking up with him because she knew he was not attracted to her physical beauty.

However, in the episode "72 Hours", Blanche was cognizant of the dangers of HIV and STDs; she always used protection and knew every lover's sexual history.

In The Golden Palace episode “Camp Town Races Aren't Nearly as Much Fun as They Used to Be,” she hung up a Confederate battle flag and was unaware of the offence it caused to black people, including their hotel manager Roland (Don Cheadle) who viewed it as a symbol of racism, while Blanche saw it as a symbol of heritage and happy memories of growing up in the South.

[7] In real life, Rue McClanahan was the youngest member of the show's cast (11 to 12 years younger than the other three series regulars).

At various times over the course of the series, Blanche mentions the names of five children: Janet, Rebecca (Becky), Matthew "Skippy", Doug, and "Biff".

However, in the third-season episode "Bringing Up Baby", when Dorothy questions an impulsive car purchase, Blanche says to her: "I have had four children, I have never had a Mercedes".

She had a strained relationship with both of her daughters, especially Janet, something that led to some of the most dramatic storylines, as she expressed regrets that she was not there for her children more, and it is loosely implied that she might have even been emotionally abusive to them when they were growing up.

Later in the series, they fought over a slimmed-down Rebecca's decision to be artificially inseminated and raising the baby without a father.

Blanche's youngest son Matthew "Skippy" appears in the Golden Palace, played by actor Bill Engvall.

Blanche seems very protective of her youngest child, as when hilariously offering one of her sons to Dorothy in exchange for a Mercedes she says: "Which one do you want?

Blanche's 14 year-old grandson David visited the girls in the first season, but was unhappy and rebellious, due to problems in his home life.

"[8] Although ultimately loving, Sophia would often make caustic remarks insulting Blanche's perceived promiscuity and lack of self-awareness.