Person Biography:
Zelda May Rubinstein was born on May 28, 1933, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to Polish Jewish immigrants Dolores and George Rubinstein. She was the youngest of three children, and the only "little person" in the family. Zelda's childhood and teenage years were challenging due to her pituitary gland deficiency, which caused her to be 4'3" tall. Despite this, she went to college and earned a scholarship to study bacteriology at the University of Pittsburgh. She worked as a lab technician for several years before pursuing a career in acting.
Zelda began her acting career in the early 1980s, making her film debut in the Chevy Chase comedy Under the Rainbow (1981). Her breakthrough role came in 1982 when she played Tangina, a saucy and self-confident "house cleaner" in the horror classic Poltergeist. The film's success led to Zelda becoming a major movie celebrity and an inspiration to other "little people" working in Hollywood.
Throughout her career, Zelda appeared in a wide range of films, including comedies, thrillers, and horror movies. She played eccentric characters, often variations of her iconic Tangina role, and worked with notable directors and actors. Zelda also had a successful career on stage, appearing in productions such as "Deathtrap," "To Kill a Mockingbird," and "Fiddler on the Roof."
Zelda was an outspoken social activist, advocating for the rights of little people and serving as a poster mom for AIDS awareness. She appeared in a series of newspaper and billboard advertisements imploring her gay son to practice safe sex and participated in the first AIDS Project Los Angeles AIDS Walk.
Zelda Rubinstein passed away on January 27, 2010, at the age of 76, due to complications from a heart attack and kidney and lung failure.
