Why Did Every Rich Person on TV in the 2000s Have a Polish Maid?
Growing up, I rarely heard Polish outside of my immediate family. But in my teenage years, to my delight, I heard the language spoken by Tony Sopranos maid, Lillianaand again by another frustrated and plucky maid named Dorota, who shouted in Polish at Gossip Girls chic debutantes. I quickly realized that if a show was centered on the quotidian lives of rich people in the tristate area, odds were that an Eastern European maid would show up eventually. Even Sex and the City centered an episode on Mirandas pious housekeeper, Magda, replacing her vibrator with a relic of the Virgin Mary. Though the trend peaked in the aughts, it continues today on shows like The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, where a Polish maid named Zelda can be found mashing potatoes in a pastel pink dress. On the occasion of Gossip Girls upcoming HBO Max reboot, and ahead of the same platforms Sex and the City revival, I decided to find out. There are so many hardworking immigrants in this country, and of course they want to see people like themselvesnot just big Hollywood stars. I think a lot of people relate to this hardworking immigrant couple who are struggling, Katalin Pota, who played Lilliana, tells me over the phone. Shes referring to her character and Lillianas husband, Stasiu (played by Albert Makhtsier). A memorable scene from partway through The Sopranos finds the two of them in a curious position: sitting in a park together and studying for the American citizenship test as FBI agents look on with curiosity, hoping to gain insights into the misdeeds of Tony Sopranothe personification of an American dream turned to rot. Pota, whos originally from Hungary, understands the tenacity it takes to live in a new placelet alone clean up after people like the Sopranos. Ever the modern woman, Lilliana rightfully holds contempt for her boss. She begrudges Tony in a way that makes you wonder, more than once, if the series might end with her taking revenge on the Soprano family. To this day her portrayal is celebrated by the shows fans: I still get letters from people, she says. They send me pictures and stills from the show and ask me to autograph them and send them back. People would stop me in the supermarket for my autograph. So it looks like its still very popular.  Much of Lillianas enduring appeal lies in her immigrant persistence, a quality Gossip Girls Zuzanna Szadkowski also embodied. Funnily enough, Szadkowski too had a tenure as a Polish maid on The Sopranos before moving on to play the now iconic role of Dorota. I wore pretty exactly the same outfit later as Dorota, says Szadkowski over the phone with an audible smile. I played other offshoots [too]a Ukrainian nanny, other kinds of Eastern European people who work for rich people in New York on TV. Szadkowski has benefited from this unlikely brand continuity: My name on paper is so Polish; you see all the zs. So when people see me coming, they have an expectation of Eastern European characters. Im fluent in Polish, so you kind of end up auditioning for these roles over and over again.  Dorota, though, wouldnt be relegated to the sidelines. Misplaced as she was in a world of oversized sunglasses, Chanel coats, and teenage transgression, she became a central player in Gossip Girls moneyed universe. The fans really gravitated towards Blair, and because Dorota was like a cheerleader moral center who really watched out for Blair, it makes sense that they took to Dorota. They saw themselves represented in her, Szadkowski guesses. Coming from a different class, different age, different place: Shes this Eastern Bloc mentality that is a grounding force. Its a big contrast. It works comedically in that world too.  Shes right. Dorota became a patron saint of Old World wisdom and pragmatism over the course of the show. She also delivered some of Gossip Girls best one-liners, compliments of Szadkowskis genius deadpan expression and offbeat timing. (Take, for instance, what Dorota declares after Blair finds herself unexpectedly with child: I must say, best part of pregnancy is knowing who father is.) Her Cold Warinflected witticisms spawned hundreds of appreciative Reddit posts, fan cams, and tweets galvanizing her as an unlikely hero of the show. Szadkowski sees something deeply Polish in Dorotas quips. Theres a kind of Slavic sense of humordry and darkerthat I think is fun to write for, she says. Its fun for actors to embody that. So it makes sense that you have the occasional Polish maid.  Matilda Szydagis, who plays the loyal Zeldathe Weissman familys Polish maid on The Marvelous Mrs. Maiselagrees. I think the shows brilliant writing has brought out her bold, honest, unfiltered Eastern European attitude, she tells me. Its refreshing, especially in a classic American setting around 1960, when it wasnt socially acceptable to be honest about feelings. Like Szadkowski and Pota, Szydagis also came by her part honestly: I was born and raised in Marquette Park on the South Side of Chicago to Polish immigrants. My first language was Polish. When Im rehearsing Zeldas lines, I think to myself, How would my mom say this?  Its fitting that all three actors have deep, personal connections to the characters theyve played. As University of Warsaw professor Anna Sosnowska-Jordanovska explains, these maids are reflections of a historical phenomenon with extensive roots In New York City, domestic cleaning became a significant ethnic niche for Polish, often undocumented, female immigrants, she says. This sensibility somehow connected New York City upper-class households with Polish and Eastern European housekeepersand in turn, TV writers hoping to present a heightened version of reality created characters based on those housekeepers.