Betty Rubble is a
fictional character in the
television animated series The Flintstones and its spin-offs and live-action motion pictures. She is the
black-haired wife of
caveman Barney Rubble and the adoptive mother of
Bamm-Bamm Rubble. Her best friend is her next-door neighbor
Wilma Flintstone.
Betty lives in the fictional
prehistoric town of
Bedrock, a world where dinosaurs coexist with
cave people and the cavepeople enjoy primitive versions of modern conveniences such as
telephones,
automobiles and
washing machines. She speaks with an Midwestern accent.
Betty Rubble's personality was based on the
stock character of the lead character's best friend's wife, commonly seen in 1950s television (other prominent examples including
Trixie Norton of
The Honeymooners, which by conflicting accounts was a major inspiration for
The Flintstones, and
Ethel Mertz of
I Love Lucy). Much like Trixie or Ethel, Betty spent a lot of her time socializing with Wilma, and the two would often end up working together to bail their husbands out of whatever scheme of Fred's had landed them in trouble, sometimes scheming with each other.
June Foray voiced Betty in a 1959
Flintstones pilot titled
The Flagstones, but
Bea Benaderet was cast for the series and voiced Betty for the first 4 seasons before stepping down in 1964 (due to her scheduling conflicts with
Petticoat Junction).
Gerry Johnson took over the role for the last 2 seasons.
Anna Bentinck has since performed the role in later
Flintstones media since 1990–2003.
In
the 1994 film, Betty was portrayed by
Rosie O'Donnell,
who reportedly won the role because she captured the high pitch laugh at her audition.
Jane Krakowski replaced O'Donnell in the 2000 prequel
The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas, in which Betty's maiden name is "O'Shale".
