Ethel Winfield

Ethel Winfield is a fictional character on the NBC sitcom Sanford and Son, portrayed by Beah Richards. She had five sisters: Esther (LaWanda Page), who was married to an alcoholic named Woodrow Anderson (Raymond Allen), Flossie, Minnie, Hazel, and Elizabeth, who was married to Watts junk dealer Fred G. Sanford (Redd Foxx), but died twenty-three years prior to time set of the pilot episode, titled Crossed Swords (Season 1, episode #1, 1972). Ethel appeared in two episodes in the second season before she was replaced by Esther. Both served as Fred's comic foils, who often insulted their appearance. Ethel's father was a shoe maker. Her family, as revealed in a later episode, was originally from Detroit, then moved to St. Louis, and then later moved to Los Angeles.