The legendary comedic actress died just weeks before her milestone 100th birthday, TMZ reports. White is said to have passed away at her home on Friday morning, law enforcement sources tell the outlet.
The Golden Girls star – who was born in 1922 – was set to reach her 100 birthday on January 17. Without any formal training, White starred alongside disc-jockey Al Jarvis in one of TV’s earliest variety shows filmed in LA called, ‘Hollywood on Television.’
“Even though Betty was about to be 100, I thought she would live forever,” Betty White’s agent and close friend Jeff Witjas tells PEOPLE in a statement.
“I will miss her terribly and so will the animal world that she loved so much. I don’t think Betty ever feared passing because she always wanted to be with her most beloved husband Allen Ludden. She believed she would be with him again.”
She was best known as Sue Ann Nivens on the 1970s sitcom Mary Tyler Moore, for which she won best supporting actress Emmys in 1975 and 1976, and for playing Rose Nylund on The Golden Girls in 1985, for which she won another Emmy in 1986.
A LEGEND WHO WAS AT ORIGIN OF TELEVISION
White was born in Oak Park, Ill., in 1922. Her family moved to Los Angeles during the Great Depression, where she attended Beverly Hills High School.
She started her entertainment career in radio in the late 1930s, and by 1939, she made her TV debut singing on an experimental channel in Los Angeles.
After serving in the American Women’s Voluntary Service during the Second World War, she was a regular on Hollywood on Television, a daily five-hour live variety show, in 1949.
LIFE AND LONGEVITY
White said her longevity was a result of good health, good fortune and loving her work.
“It’s incredible that I’m still in this business and that you are still putting up with me,” White said in an appearance at the 2018 Emmy Awards, where she was honoured for her long career.
“It’s incredible that you can stay in a career this long and still have people put up with you. I wish they did that at home.”
Check out the reactions below.
Lawdddd they done took Betty White !! pic.twitter.com/aMLTbYUM1w
— noCHRISjusBREEZY (@KickNtheBreeze) December 31, 2021
They are together again #GoldenGirls pic.twitter.com/em6ckBxEyP
— THEE Stephanie. (@qsteph) December 31, 2021
Mean Girls (S03E01)#GoldenGirls #TheGoldenGirls #bettywhite #stolafstories pic.twitter.com/crsLMZGGfP
— St. Olaf Stories (@StOlafStories) December 27, 2021
Betty White was an icon, a legend, and consistently found a way to be the moment over her nearly 70 year career.
A trailblazer. An original. And a truly kind soul. May she be forever surrounded by four-legged animals in heaven. pic.twitter.com/agiNKiSY7O
— Jarett Wieselman (@JarettSays) December 31, 2021
golden
adjective1. bright, metallic, or lustrous like gold.
2. full of happiness, prosperity, or vigor.
3. highly talented and favored; destined for success.
4. Betty White. pic.twitter.com/uLiOr5j13X— Dictionary.com (@Dictionarycom) December 31, 2021
This time it's true.We almost made it to the 100th year party.Not a happy end to the year but she gave us nearly a century of joy. what a gift that gave&gave &gave. #BettyWhite
— AfrikanOlogist (@Liepollo9) December 31, 2021
— kush klux klan (@ciroc_osama) December 31, 2021
I remember this scene and how it was just one of them left now it’s so sad cause all of them are gone now ☹️
— 𓅓☄️. Barb4L (@SumNikaaa) December 31, 2021
