Estelle Harris, the New York actress with the unforgettable shriek who hilariously nagged her son (played by Jason Alexander) and husband (Jerry Stiller) on Seinfeld, has died. She was 93.

Harris died Saturday of natural causes at her home in Palm Desert, California, her son Glen Harris told The Hollywood Reporter. She was to turn 94 in a few days.

Harris left a legacy of voiceover work, including a memorable turn as the overbearing Mrs. Potato Head (the wife of Don Rickles‘ Mr. Potato Head) in Pixar’s Toy Story franchise.

She played Aunt Harriet in Nora Ephron’s directorial debut This Is My Life (1992), opposite Julie Kavner, and appeared with Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau in Out to Sea (1997), as an acerbic cruise-ship guest, and in The Odd Couple II (1998), as a flirtatious older woman.

The 5-foot-3 actress also endeared herself to the younger crowd with a recurring role as Muriel, the lazy maid at The Tipton Hotel, on the 2005-08 Disney Channel series The Suite Life of Zack and Cody.

Though she held a lifelong interest in performing, Harris did not begin her professional career until later in life, making her screen debut in a small role in Looking Up (1977) when she was approaching 50. She worked steadily in bit roles until she was cast as Estelle Costanza on the fourth season of Seinfeld, making her a fan favorite. (She noted that the character was named Estelle before she auditioned.)

Having never watched the show before her tryout, Harris first appeared as Mrs. Costanza on the infamous fourth-season Seinfeld episode “The Contest.” She ends up in the hospital after catching George masturbating, which leads the four main characters to make a bet as to who can go without the longest. At her initial audition, Harris said she was shocked when she realized the meaning of the euphemisms in the script.

With her characteristic screech that raised her scenes to an operatic pitch, Harris became known for her sarcastic remarks and exasperated tirades at the expense of her son, George, and husband, Frank. She appeared in 27 episodes of Seinfeld from 1992-98.

Harris said in 2012 that she loved the character from the start but couldn’t find anyone in her own life on which to base her. “Nobody had a past like that!” she noted. “I mean, that poor woman. She lived in that apartment that they got married in with the same furniture and the same husband and one son that was a loser. I mean, she had everything bad! I thought it was funny.”

Alexander tweeted Friday in tribute of “one of my favorite people.” He added about his Seinfeld co-star, “The joy of playing with her and relishing her glorious laughter was a treat. I adore you, Estelle. Love to your family. Serenity now and always.”

Despite that voice, which could be annoying or shrill, Harris brought a distinct warmth and charm to her roles.

She could be heard as Timon’s mother on the Timon & Pumbaa TV series; as Lula, the enchanted talking sword, on Dave the Barbarian; as Drakken’s mother on Kim Possible; as the neurotic chicken Audrey on Disney’s Home on the Range (2004); and as Death’s Mother on Fox’s Family Guy (1999).

She was born Estelle Nussbaum in New York City to candy-store owners Isaac and Anna Nussbaum. After falling in love with performing in high school, Harris became a full-time mother and homemaker, but she squeezed in work in dinner theater and on TV spots whenever she could. (She said she once did 27 national commercials in one year alone.)

Living on Long Island with her husband, Sy Harris, she raised three children before determining to make a living as an actor. An agent discovered her in a local production of Come Back, Little Sheba in the role of Lola (the part for which Shirley Booth won an Oscar in 1953), leading to steady theatrical work.

Harris made it to the big screen in 1977, winning small roles in Looking Up and Summerdog. Next, she appeared as an unfeeling mother in Sergio Leone’s epic gangster film Once Upon a Time in America (1984).

At the prompting of one of her sons, who had freelanced as a publicist, Harris made the jump to the sitcom world in 1985, securing a three-episode arc on NBC’s Night Court as a kindly hooker named Sweet Mary.

In 1992, Harris portrayed a nagging mother on NBC’s Mad About You, which would presage her role on Seinfeld. She joined the rest of the Seinfeld cast on a 2009 episode of Larry David’s Curb Your Enthusiasm, where the plot revolved around a reunion for the TV show.

She made her debut as Mrs. Potato Head in Toy Story 2 (1999), a role she reprised in the following two sequels and in several short films.

Harris was a spokesperson for Iams Senior Food Plus pet food for dogs and cats, an extension of her lifelong love of animals.

She married Sy in 1953, and they had two sons, Eric and Glen, and a daughter, Taryn.