'Steel Magnolias' was based on a true story Actor and writer Robert Harling wrote the play based on the true story of his sister, Susan Harling Robinson, who died from complications with diabetes.
Who were the characters in Steel Magnolias based on?
Robert Harling based the story in part on his sister, Susan Harling Robinson. She died in 1985 of complications from Type 1 diabetes. In the film, Julia Roberts plays Shelby, the character based on Susan.
Steel Magnolias is a stage play by American writer Robert Harling, based on his experience with his sister's death. The play is a comedy-drama about the bond among a group of Southern women in northwest Louisiana. The title suggests the "female characters are as delicate as magnolias but as tough as steel".
Over the course of the story, we learn that Shelby's greatest desire in life is to be a mother and, despite warnings not to get pregnant, she has a baby and goes into kidney failure. And guess what, you guys. SHE DIES TOO.
The Holyfields relate that their friends used to say “Shelby drink your juice” to one another, to encourage each other to “drink up and pick up the pace.” They named Shelby the poodle after the phrase, and then the cocktail—which features the classic Kentucky ginger soda Ale-8-One—after her, following her death.
Actor and writer Robert Harling wrote the play based on the true story of his sister, Susan Harling Robinson, who died from complications with diabetes.
It is obvious that Shelby suffers from diabetic nephropathy and the film makes this crystal clear. To avoid the worsening and to slow down the progression the doctors advise her against having children.
In the movie, Shelby has been told by her doctors that if she has a baby that it will put too much strain on her diabetic body and she could die in labor. But she wants a baby SO badly and can't adopt because of her medical condition. So she becomes pregnant and her mom is extremely upset.
"We really did make fast friends, all of us," she told Garden and Gun, "and have been ever since. I don't know what it is about the subject matter in the movie, but going through that makes you friends for life."
“It's when that friendship deepens that most people feel comfortable enough to let others see their pain. 'Steel Magnolias' walks us through an evolution of friendship and trust in less than two hours.”
Beyond the joys and sorrow, though, the story is truly a meditation on friendship and how the relationships that we build—in our neighborhoods, at work, or at the beauty salon—are what sustains us through life's highs and lows.
Annelle Dupuy-Desoto (19-25) very shy twenty-year-old hair-dresser. She goes from a very soft-spoken person to a bible-loving Christian with her heart on her sleeve. Shelby Eatenton-Latcherie Roughly 25-year-old diabetic young lady. Prettiest girl in town, and loved by all.
Did Dolly Parton really do Julia Roberts hair in Steel Magnolias?
Dolly Parton and Daryl Hannah studied hair stylists so their hair styling scenes would look authentic -- a particular necessity in the first beauty shop scene, during the course of which Parton styles Julia Roberts' hair for her wedding.
With a foreshadowing of the tragedy to come, Shelby almost faints when she sees herself in the salon mirror. But it's not pre-wedding jitters, it's type 1 diabetes. She falls into a hypoglycaemic state and can only be brought around by her mother forcing her to drink a glass of juice.
Know your risks. Women who have type 1 diabetes can have a safe pregnancy and a healthy baby, but it's important to monitor diabetes complications that could worsen throughout pregnancy, such as high blood pressure, vision loss, and kidney disease.
Life expectancy estimates for individuals with type 1 diabetes in these reports ranged from approximately 65 years of age to 72 years of age. The CDC currently estimates the average US life expectancy is 76.1 years, the lowest figure since 1996.
Time skips about a year and a half and picks up with everyone celebrating the first birthday of Shelby's son, Jack Jr. A shadow is soon brought upon the cast as Shelby discovers that her kidneys are beginning to fail as a result of her pregnancy.
After an early breakthrough with appearances in Mystic Pizza (1988) and Steel Magnolias (1989), Roberts established herself as a leading actress when she headlined the top-grossing romantic comedy Pretty Woman (1990).
Shelby is a gender-neutral name of Norse origin, meaning “willow” or “from the ledge estate.” This Viking-born name was derived from an Old Norse surname Selby which combined the words selja, meaning “willow,” and byr, which translates to “estate.” Shelby's association with the willow tree gives the name a mystical and ...
