Betty White, a comedy icon known for roles in “Golden Girls” and “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” has died. She was 99.
Her agent and close friend Jeff Witjas confirmed the news on Friday.
“Even though Betty was about to be 100, I thought she would live forever,” Witjas said in a statement to People magazine. “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.”
The cause of death is unclear. Reps for White and the Monterey County Sheriff’s Department did not immediately respond to Fox News’ requests for comment.
BETTY WHITE’S SECRET TO A LONG, HAPPY, HEALTHY LIFE (HINT: IT CAME FROM HER MOM)
Actress Betty White poses for a portrait in Los Angeles on June 9, 2010. White will turn 99 on Sunday, Jan. 17. (AP Photo/Matt Sayles, File)
White was the last living star of “Golden Girls” – a 1985-1992 comedy about four women of a certain age.
She had a rich career in films as well, most notably in “The Proposal” and more recently, “Toy Story 4.”
White’s pension for comedy never seemed to fade, as she again found success on television with the sitcom “Hot in Cleveland,” which ran from 2010-2015.
The star would have turned 100 on Jan. 17.
White was born Jan. 17, 1922 in Oak Park Illinois and grew up in Los Angeles. She did some modeling and by the 1940s was getting work appearing on the radio. That segued into hosting a variety show on television and in 1950 she was nominated for her first Emmy.
After appearing as the title character on the television show “Life With Elizabeth” from 1952-55, White went on to appear on a number of talk and game shows in the 1950s and 60s.
In 1973, she landed the first part that brought her national recognition: Sue Ann Nivens, the conniving, sweet-as-pie-stab-you-in-the-back Happy Homemaker on “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” a role that brought her back-to-back Emmys.
White’s next signature part, Rose Nylund on “The Golden Girls,” was almost the opposite of Sue Ann. Rose, a native of St. Olaf, Minnesota, was sweet, naive and more than a little ditzy. She brought White another Emmy.
Later White appeared as a guest star on a number of television shows, on the soap opera “The Bold and the Beautiful,” in the 2009 film “The Proposal” and a 2010 Super Bowl ad for Snickers before joining “Hot in Cleveland” later that year.
In more recent years, she slowed down a bit, mostly appearing in single episodes of television like “Young & Hungry,” “Bones” and “SpongeBob SquarePants.”
Her final roles came in 2019 when she lent her voice to “Toy Story 4” and it’s Disney+ spin-off series “Forkey Asks a Question.” She played a character cheekily named Bitey White.
She also lent her voice to the 2019 animated flick “Trouble.”
White married three times: in 1945 to Army pilot Dick Barker, from 1947-49 to Hollywood agent Lane Allen and to “Password” host Allen Ludden from 1963 until his death in 1981.
This is a developing story, check back for updates
