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Elizabeth Sanford

Vital Information
Gender: Female
Birthname Elizabeth Winfield
Born: Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
Family and Personal Information
Related to: Fred Sanford (husband)
Lamont Sanford (son)
Ethel Winfield (sister)
Esther Anderson (sister)
Woodrow Anderson (brother in-law)
Character information
Appeared on: Sanford and Son (mentioned constantly by Fred Sanford for example: "Elizabeth, I'm Comin' To Join Ya, Honey!")
Episodes appeared in: First mentioned by Fred in episode titled "Crossed Swords"
Character played by: N/A (deceased, never seen on series)
Sanford and Son retro Wiki Script


Elizabeth Winfield Sanford is a fictional character on the NBC sitcom Sanford and Son. She was the wife of Fred G. Sanford, and the mother of Lamont Sanford, who was born September 27, 1940. In 1946, the family moved to Watts, a neighborhood in South Central Los Angeles. She died 23 years prior to the pilot, "Crossed Swords", when Lamont was seven. Although she is never shown, she is mentioned many times by other characters, most often by Fred in his fake-heart-attack routine. When things didn't go Fred's way or he didn't get what he wanted, he would act like he was having a heart attack, grabbing his chest and shouting "You hear that, Elizabeth! I'm coming to join ya, honey!" or some variant. Elizabeth's sisters, Ethel, Flossie, Minnie, Rosetta, Hazel Winfield and Esther Anderson are antagonistic towards their brother-in-law Fred. Esther is a proud Christian with a sharp tongue, and Fred frequently insults her appearance. Elizabeth's father was a shoemaker. She was from St. Louis but moved to Los Angeles with Fred. In season 4 episode 9 "Sanford and Niece" his niece Elizabeth comes to visit and bears a striking resemblance to his late wife.

Elizabeth was shown in a picture in an episode when Fred went to an old folks home. He places her picture on his night stand but you cannot see her clearly.  

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