BEA ARTHUR

Beatrice 'Bea' Arthur was an actress from the 1950s to the 2000s. She is best known for her roles as both Maude in TV's "All in the Family" and its spinoff "Maude", and also as Dorothy in TV's "The Golden Girls". Few people know this, but before she was an actress, she was one of the first women to be an active duty U.S. Marine. After serving during World War II as a typist and truck driver in the Marines, she worked her way up from private to staff sergeant when she was discharged in 1945! Arthur passed away in 2009 at the age of 86.