First appearing in the works of cartoonist Charles Addams, she is a supporting character in the film, television, and stage adaptations.

When asked to name his characters for the then upcoming 1964 TV adaptation, Charles Addams, creator of the original The New Yorker cartoon strips, first named the household's grandmother as Granny Frump and described her as Gomez's mother, thus making her Morticia's mother-in-law and Wednesday and Pugsley's paternal grandmother.

But when the show was being made, the characters were instead given the surname of Addams after their creator, yet Grandmama remains Gomez's mother and "Frump" became Morticia's maiden name instead.

However, due to Charles Addams originally naming the character Granny Frump, both the feature films and animated television series had retconned her as being Morticia's mother and Wednesday and Pugsley's maternal grandmother instead.

In the 1992 series, Grandmama is of Morticia's side of the family, when she introduces herself with the line "the name's Granny Frump".