Bio
Betty White was an American actress best known for her roles in the television sitcoms The Mary Tyler Moore Show (1973-1977) and The Golden Girls, from 1985-1992.
In more recent years she's become known for her role as the long-suffering secretary Catherine Piper in the legal dramedies The Practice and Boston Legal.
She also starred as quick-witted home caretaker Elka in the sitcom Hot in Cleveland, from 2010.
Born in Oak Park, Illinois, White attended Beverly Hills High School and performed on L.A. radio programs in the 1940s. Her work in TV began in the early 1950s, and the outgoing comic actress was named a candidate for "America's Sweetheart" by TV Guide.
Two decades later, White became a household name as Sue Ann Nivens on The Mary Tyler Moore Show. By the mid-1960s, White became known primarily for hosting the annual Tournament of Roses Parade, a job she held for 20 years.
In 1985, she landed a major hit as Rose on The Golden Girls.
White made frequent guest appearances over the years, and from 2004 to 2008 she portrayed accident-prone firm employee Catherine Piper on The Practice and its spin-off, Boston Legal.
She also had stints on Malcolm in the Middle and The Bold and the Beautiful, and brought flair to 2009 romantic comedy The Proposal.
But it was in 2010 that White's star truly exploded, at the age of 88. In a Snickers commercial that debuted during the Super Bowl, she portrayed a de-energized man playing flag football with his friends.
"Mike, you're playing like Betty White out there," one complains. White, clad in a sweatsuit and covered in mud, retorts, "That's not what your girlfriend said."
A YouTube sensation was born, and with it, a Facebook page called "Betty White to Host SNL (please?!)," which quickly amassed half a million fans and helped gel her actual co-hosting of Saturday Night Live.
In addition, the Screen Actors Guild honoured her with a Lifetime Achievement Award, while Jay Leno presented White with another such prize at the 2010 Genii Awards.
She won five Primetime Emmy Awards and two Daytime Emmy Awards over the course of her career.
Betty died at her home in Brentwood, California on Friday 31 December 2021, two weeks and three days before her 100th birthday.