Totie Fields was born Sophie Feldman on May 7, 1930, in Hartford, Connecticut, to Russian Jewish immigrant parents.
Totie Fields was born Sophie Feldman on May 7, 1930, in Hartford, Connecticut, the daughter of Russian Jewish immigrants. Growing up in a working-class immigrant household during the Great Depression, she developed an early love of performing, singing and dancing in local venues as a child.
Her upbringing in a tightly-knit Jewish immigrant community shaped much of the ethnic, self-deprecating comedic voice she would later become famous for. She began performing professionally as a teenager, touring in vaudeville-style revues and nightclub circuits before adopting the stage name 'Totie Fields.'
This early grounding in live variety entertainment set the stage for her decades-long career as one of the first women to succeed as a stand-up comedian in an industry dominated by men, eventually appearing on major television programs and in Las Vegas showrooms.