Betty White Dies Aged 99
The star would have been 100 in just two weeks time
American star Betty White, best known for her roles in Golden Girls and The Mary Tyler Moore Show, has sadly passed away at the age of 99. White died at home in the morning this past Friday (December 31) – she would have turned 100 years of age in two weeks.
The actresses career spanned an incredible eight decades, taking her from the days of black and white TV to films in this era where she starred alongside the likes of Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds in The Proposal. Throughout her career, she received eight Emmys, one Grammy and three Screen Actors Guild Awards.
Her career started as far back as 1939, with her stardom rising as she co-hosted the live talkshow Hollywood on Television between 1949 and 1953. Once her co-host Al Jarvis resigned, White hosted alone, marking her as the first female television talkshow host. Her own talkshow then launched in 1954, with her then being instrumental in the origins of domestic sitcoms.
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In the 1970s she starred as Sue Ann Nivens in The Mary Tyler Moore Show which made White a star almost overnight. Her role as Rose Nylund in the 1980s sitcom The Golden Girls then anchored her in people’s homes as she continued to light up the screen.
Various individuals in the public eye have led tributes to white, including US Present Joe Biden, Star Trek star George Takei and Oprah Winfrey. Ryan Reynolds tweeted the following:
The world looks different now. She was great at defying expectation. She managed to grow very old and somehow, not old enough. We’ll miss you, Betty. Now you know the secret.
White is survived by her three stepchildren from her marriage to Allen Ludden. Ludden passed away in 1981.