Maiden Formed Trivia Quiz

Answer: Gabrielle Solis

On "Desperate Housewives" (2004-2012), the story of the ladies of suburban Wisteria Lane (no relation to Lois), former model Gabrielle Solis (born Marquez, formerly Lang) is married to rich and handsome Carlos, but that doesn't seem to be enough. Gabrielle is one of two main characters to cheat on their husbands, she is the youngest of the four main characters, and she has an allergy to lilies. If you've watched the show you may know these things, and if you haven't, you may not care! Gabrielle is played by Eva Longoria (formerly Parker) who was nominated in 2006 for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress.

Answer: Sheffield

Fran Fine was "The Nanny" (1993-1999) who happened to be a Jewish princess from Queens selling cosmetics when she lucked into the job of taking care of Broadway producer Maxwell Sheffield's three kids. Maxwell is a wealthy British widower and, like all fairy tales, Fran eventually winds up marrying him but, before that, she finds that she really cares for the children, Maggie, Brighton and Grace and becomes close friends with Niles, the butler. Of course, the 'fly in the ointment' is provided by Maxwell's business partner, C.C. Babcock, who already had her sights set on Max. Fran Drescher and Charles Shaughnessy play the leads.

Answer: Dracula

On "The Munsters" (1964-1966) Lily Munster, wife of Herman and daughter of Grandpa, logically has a middle name of Dracula since both she and her father are vampires; Herman is employed by Gateman, Goodman and Graves at a funeral home and looks as though he was sewn together by Victor Frankenstein; their son, Eddie, is a werewolf and their niece Marilyn is 'normal' ('the eye of the beholder', eh?). Yvonne De Carlo, who played Lily, was actually a famous Hollywood movie star of the 1940s and 1950s, appearing in films like "The Deerslayer" and "The Ten Commandments".

Answer: Teri Hatcher

Ah, yet another "Desperate Housewives" from Wisteria Lane...Teri Hatcher played the role of the typical, vulnerable, accident-prone, class valedictorian, poor cook, 'girl next door'. Marc Cherry, the producer of "Desperate Housewives" wrote the part of Susan Mayer with Mary-Louise Parker in mind but, when she turned down the offer, Teri auditioned for the role and got the part.

She received both a Golden Globe and 3 Screen Actors Guild Awards and a Primetime Emmy nomination. Prior to that, Teri played Lois Lane in "Lois and Clark: The Adventures of Superman" and Sidra on "Seinfeld" (where she said "they're real and they're spectacular!").

Answer: Blanche Devereaux

As a matter of fact, in the pilot episode of "The Golden Girls" (1985), Blanche's last name was given as Hollingsworth, but this was changed in later episodes and became her maiden name. Blanche Elizabeth Marie Hollingsworth Devereaux was born (in 1931 or 1932) in Atlanta, Georgia at her family's mansion 'Twin Oaks' (probably based on Twelve Oaks Plantation from "Gone with the Wind"). Blanche was played by Rue McClanahan as the sexy member of the group; Sofia once called her a "50 year old mattress".

The show was groundbreaking at the time by depicting older women as attractive, stylish (well, maybe not Sofia) and romantically active role models.

Answer: Edith Bunker

It was Edith Baines Bunker, the wife from "All in the Family" (1971-1979) who Archie was always telling to "stifle herself". The comedy was innovative and unprecedented in that it brought 'reality' to prime time TV where the protagonist was a loud-mouthed, unapologetic bigot; too bad they just don't make bigots like they used to on network TV. Archie called Edith a "dingbat" but she was a warm, sweet, non-judgmental wife, i.e., a perfect foil for "Archie". Jean Stapleton, who played Edith, decided not to continue her portrayal as the submissive wife in 1980 and so Edith died off-camera on "Archie Bunker's Place".

Answer: Keenan

We find out that Dr. Brennan's birth name was actually Joy Keenan; her parents were involved with some shady characters and had to change their names in order to protect their family, so Ruth Keenan (Bones' mother) became Christine Brennan, and Joy became Temperance. Dr. Brennan was a brilliant forensic pathologist but, like many geniuses, she did not 'get' references about regular, everyday stuff like movies, TV shows, etc.

There was also a lot of sexual tension between her and her FBI partner, Special Agent Seeley Booth, over the years until they finally got married on October 21, 2013 (season 9) - and may just have 'jumped the shark'.

Answer: Phyllis Lindstrom

Mary's neighbor and landlady Phyllis' maiden name was Sutherland; we learn this when we meet Phyllis' brother Ben (who she didn't know was gay). Phyllis was married to Lars who was a dermatologist, but he was one of those sitcom characters we never see (like Norm's wife Vera on "Cheers" or Maris on "Frasier"). Before Phyllis got her own spin-off and moved to San Francisco, California, she didn't get along with some of the other characters, e.g., Mary's BFF Rhoda and Sue Ann Nivens, 'The Happy Homemaker', who she suspected might be having an affair with her husband. Cloris Leachman played the part of Phyllis and won a Golden Globe Award for Best Lead Actress in a Comedy.

Answer: Melissa Rauch

All of the choices play characters on "The Big Bang Theory", Mayim Bialik is Amy Farrah Fowler, Carol Ann Susi is the unseen mother of Howard, and Laura Spencer plays Raj's girlfriend, Emily Sweeney; but it is Melissa Rauch who plays Bernadette Rostenkowski who was a waitress at the Cheesecake Factory before completing her Ph.D in microbiology.

She married Howard Wolowitz (who does NOT have a Ph.D) and got a high paying job with a pharmaceutical company. Theirs is a mixed marriage (she is Catholic and he is Jewish) but this tiny woman seems to be in control both at home and at work; plus, she might have the longest name of any sitcom character.

Answer: Modern Family

Claire Pritchett Dunphy is the lynchpin around which the "Modern Family" circles. Their family story is told from the perspective of an unseen documentary filmmaker who interviews the characters, i.e., Clair and Phil, and their three 'normal teenagers' (an oxymoron if ever there was one), Claire's father Jay Pritchett, a wealthy closet maker and his much younger, Latina wife Gloria and their two boys, and Claire's brother Mitchell who is a gay lawyer married to Cameron Tucker, former farm boy and clown, with their adopted Vietnamese daughter Lily - just one big happy, modern family, along with many Emmys and a Golden Globe for Outstanding Comedy Series.