Comedy actress Betty White, who enjoyed a showbiz career spanning more than 80 years, has died less than three weeks shy of her 100th birthday.
The star of hit sitcoms The Golden Girls and The Mary Tyler Moore Show 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,” Betty 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.”
Betty was not afraid to mock herself and make gaai of her sex life and would make offside remarks that one would not expect from a sweet, white-haired elderly ouma.
She was frequently asked if, after such a long career, there was anything she still wanted to do and the standard response was: “Robert Redford.”
Betty Marion White was born on 17 January 1922, in Oak Park, Illinois, and her family moved to Los Angeles during the Great Depression.
She started her entertainment career in radio in the late 1930s.
Through the 1960s and early ’70s, Betty was seen regularly on television as a host.
She won best-supporting actress Emmys for her role in The Mary Tyler Moore Show in 1975 and 1976.
She won another Emmy in 1986 for The Golden Girls and went on to be nominated another six other times.
Betty married WW2 pilot Dick Barker (1945), actor Lane Allen (1947 - 1949), and TV host Allen Ludden (1963 - 1981). She didn’t have any children.