Eleanor "Miss Ellie" Ewing Farlow (maiden name Southworth) is a fictional character from the primetime CBS television series Dallas, a long-running serial centered on the lives of the wealthy Ewing family of Dallas, Texas. Created by writer David Jacobs, the character of family matriarch Miss Ellie was an important part of the show's structure and conflict. The dynamic role was originated by stage and screen actress Barbara Bel Geddes who was awarded both the Emmy Award and Golden Globe award for Outstanding Lead Actress In A Drama Series. Half-way through the show's historic 13-year run, real-life drama impacted the character of Miss Ellie when, only days after filming wrapped for the 1982–1983 season, Bel Geddes was confronted with emergency quadruple bypass surgery. Consequently, the character of Miss Ellie went unseen until the 12th episode of the 1983–1984 season when Bel Geddes returned. Facing continued health issues, she was replaced by movie and television actress Donna Reed for the entire 1984–1985 season. When she returned to health, Dallas producers asked Bel Geddes to return to the role again for the 1985–86 season, where she remained through the character's final appearance in the 1989–90 season. The character of Miss Ellie appeared on Dallas in a total of 300 episodes, 276 episodes played by Barbara Bel Geddes, and 24 episodes played by Donna Reed. Miss Ellie's storylines focus on her family's troubles. As the matriarch of the Ewing family, she is portrayed as a strong and loving mother. Miss Ellie's marriage to oil baron Jock Ewing was central to the character for the first few years she appeared in the show, until his death in an episode in 1981, following the real-life death of actor Jim Davis.