List of Roseanne Characters - Other Major Characters - Nana Mary

Nana Mary

Played by Shelley Winters. Nana Mary is Beverly's mother, and grandmother of Roseanne and Jackie who first appears in season three at a family barbecue. She has another daughter named Sonya. She makes several appearances from season three onwards, mostly during family occasions. She is a brash, outspoken, and lovable retiree who gambles with her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Unlike Bev, she is popular with the family. She also disagrees with her daughter on certain situations (such as siding with Jackie when Bev tries to get her to marry Fred, and revealing that she had two abortions, upsetting Bev who is against the idea). She outsmarts and drives Bev crazy, much to the amusement of Roseanne and Jackie, who usually endure the same torment from their own mother. Her character is often a comic relief for the family, as well as offering a balance between Roseanne and Jackie's relationship with their mother, and Bev's relationship with Nana Mary. She was promiscuous in her younger days and claims to have dated Pablo Picasso and Louis Armstrong. Mary had Bev with another man before marrying her deceased husband, Marvin. She tells Bev she was very young when she was born, and doesn't know who the father is, avoiding the subject whenever Bev brings it up. She is a big fan of a local radio call-in show that revolves around sex, and states, "If I don't call, they worry." Nana Mary's last appearance is in mid season nine, in which she finally has a heart-to-heart with her daughter, thus, closing the story on their relationship. Despite her absence, Bev goes on to appear at other family occasions, including the birth of her great-granddaughter.