- Los Angeles, CA
America’s most beloved Golden Girl, and Actress Betty White passed away at the age of 99 Friday morning at her home in Carmel California an hour and a half south of south of San Jose. “Even though Betty was about to be 100, I thought she would live forever,” her agent and close friend Jeff Witjas told PEOPLE in a statement on Friday.
“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.”
White was best known for her work on sitcoms, including her Emmy-winning portrayals of Sue Ann Nivens on “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” and Rose Nylund on “The Golden Girls.” White was gearing up to celebrate her 100th birthday on Jan. 17. Ahead of her centennial year, in January, White opened up to PEOPLE Magazine about how she was feeling about turning 100 years old.
"I'm so lucky to be in such good health and feel so good at this age," said the veteran actress. "It's amazing."
Betty got her start in radio in the '40s, making appearances on "Blondie," "The Great Gildersleeve," and "This is Your FBI." She eventually got her own radio program. In 1949, she began working on a TV variety show with Al Jarvis called "Hollywood on Television" -- which she later co-hosted -- before breaking out into more TV roles. Her breakout comedic role came in 1973 when she played Sue Ann Nivens on "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" ... which ran until 1977, and then she got her starring role in "The Betty White Show."
With 115 acting credits to her name, Betty had roles in productions like "Life with Elizabeth," "Date with the Angels," "The Love Boat," "Mama's Family," "The Golden Palace," "Ladies Man," "That '70s Show," "Higglytown Heroes," "Boston Legal," "The Bold and the Beautiful," "Pound Puppies," "Hot in Cleveland," and many, many, many other shows and films.
BY: MLWA 7, PEOPLE Magazine
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