'I thought she would live forever'

Golden Girls star Betty White has died just two weeks short of her 100th birthday.

The actress’s career kicked off in 1939 and is thought to have become the first female talk show host.

The Betty White Show premiered on NBC in 1954 and  she also starred in one of the first domestic sitcoms, Life With Elizabeth, in the 1950s. She also produced the show, making her a rare female power player of the time.

She became a household name as Sue Ann Nivens on 1970s sitcom The Mary Tyler Moore Show – and achieved legendary status as Rose Nylund on The Golden Girls,

White was a regular late night shows including The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and the sitcom Hot in Cleveland, fronted the prank show Betty White's Off Their Rockers  and had cameos ranging from 30 Rock to Community.

She died at her home on Friday morning, just two weeks before she would have turned 100.

Her agent Jeff Witjas told People magazine: ‘Even though Betty was about to be 100, I thought she would live forever.’

Others paying tribute tonight include Seth Myers who tweeted: 'RIP Betty White, the only SNL host I ever saw get a standing ovation at the after party. A party at which she ordered a vodka and a hotdog and stayed til the bitter end.'

Veteran newsreader Dan Rather added: 'A spirit of goodness and hope. Betty White was much beloved because of who she was, and how she embraced a life well lived. Her smile. Her sense of humor. Her basic decency. Our world would be better if more followed her example. It is diminished with her passing.'

Even the US Army tweeted: 'We are saddened by the passing of Betty White. Not only was she an amazing actress, she also served during WWII as a member of the American Women's Voluntary Services. A true legend on and off the screen.'

She leaves three stepchildren from her marriage to Allen Ludden, who died in 1981.

Published: 31 Dec 2021