Happy Days actress Marion Ross looked better than ever in rare new photos of the star, who celebrated her 98th birthday on October 25 with her family. Marion's son, Jim Meskimen, took to Instagram to share photos of his famous mom over the years, from her time as a TV matriarch to her later years as a loving grandmother.
The first snap saw Marion seated inside her cosy home with a birthday banner and balloons in the background.
© InstagramShe had a wide smile on her face as she posed for the camera, with Jim hugging her from behind. "Happy Birthday Mama 98!" he wrote in the caption, as her friends and fans rushed to the comment section to share the love.
Marion's Happy Days co-star, Henry Winkler, posted a series of fire emojis, while another fan added: "No way! She looks so much younger than 98!" and a third wrote: "98? My god. Amazing." Another fan said: "98 years never looked so good," while a fifth chimed in: "You still look amazing for your age."
Marion Ross' special birthday surprise
© InstagramJim also shared a poem that he wrote for his mom on her birthday, reciting it in a social media video. "Today we gladly mark the date as worthy to commemorate the birth of our dear Marion as she turns ninety effin eight," he said. "No one today would hesitate to say her contributions great to lives both near and quite far-flung from Sydney to the Emirates."
"Born way back in '28, this actress planned her bold escape from Midwest proletarians she simply couldn't tolerate. She splurged on urges to create and entered Paramount's tall gate, snubbing authoritarians and anyone who would negate," he continued.
"In Happy Days, she demonstrates formidable maternal traits, and happily still she carries on to this grand day we celebrate. So if we were to calculate our love for her at 98, the total would rise on and on, impossible to exaggerate. Happy birthday, our dear Marion, thank you for your caring and love and joy you cultivate. Congrats on ninety effin eight.'"
Jim remarked that Marion liked the poem, which he delivered to her at her birthday brunch.
Marion Ross' remarkable legacy
© Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty ImagesThe legendary actress welcomed Jim in 1959 with her then-husband, Freeman Meskiman, and their daughter, Ellen, arrived three years later. Marion and Freeman divorced in 1969 after 18 years of marriage, and she later dated Dark Shadows actor Paul Michael from 1988 until his death in 2011.
Marion's breakout role was in Happy Days as Marion Cunningham, or "Mrs C.", the family matriarch. She starred in the show from 1974 to 1984 alongside Ron Howard, Tom Bosley, Erin Moran, Anson Williams and Don Most, and shared that working on the show taught her how to be a better parent.
© Instagram"Being a mom on Happy Days was perfect for me because at home I had a daughter and son who were two or three years younger than the children I had on set," she told Midlife at the Oasis.
"I could practice on the show and rehearse small crises that I would have at home a few years later. When they became adults, and I'd already been through that on the set, aha! I knew what to do!"
