US actress Betty White dies shortly before her 100th birthday. She became known worldwide with her role as Rose Nylund in the sitcom “Golden Girls”.
Los Angeles – The US actress and entertainer Betty White is dead. The actress of the widow Rose Nylund from the series “Golden Girls” died at the age of 99, as US media reported on Friday, citing her agent Jeff Witjas. The news portal TMZ reported, citing security circles, that White had died in her home. “I thought she would live forever,” Vityas told People magazine. “I’ll miss her terribly.”
The award-winning comedian had one of the longest careers in show business history: Born in Chicago in 1922, she began working as a model and on the radio before appearing regularly on television from 1949. In the 1950s she was the producer of the series “Life with Elizabeth” – one of the first women in the profession.
Betty White: With the “Golden Girls” came the big success
She became a cult figure from the mid-1980s with her role in the series “Golden Girls” about four older women who share a house in Miami. White was Rose Nylund, a quirky Minnesota woman who countered the more sophisticated characters played by Bea Arthur, Rue McClanahan, and Estelle Getty.
In 2019 White took on a speaking role in the animated film “Toy Story 4”. She has won several Emmy Awards, including a Lifetime Achievement Award. Even in old age, she was still very active on the Instagram Internet platform.
Her life was inextricably linked with the US entertainment industry. She even met her third husband Allen Ludden on a quiz show – he was the presenter. They were married from 1963 to 1981. After that, White never married again. She had no children.
The woman with the unmistakable blonde haircut and light blue eyes was known for her disrespectful sayings. When asked by US presenter David Letterman about her favorite pastimes, she said: “Mostly playing with animals. And vodka is a kind of hobby ”.
Betty White: Joe Biden speaks of a “wonderful lady”
President Joe Biden was one of the first to respond to news of White’s death: she was a “wonderful lady,” he told reporters. “Ninety-nine years old – as my mother would say, God loves her!” On Twitter, the US president wrote that the comedian had “put a smile on generations of Americans”.
The US military also paid tribute to this “true legend on and off the screen,” which had also “served in American female volunteer service during World War II.” Actor Ryan Reynolds said on Twitter that the world will look “different” after her death.
Betty White brought a smile to the lips of generations of Americans. She’s a cultural icon who will be sorely missed. Jill and I are thinking of her family and all those who loved her this New Year’s Eve.
— President Biden (@POTUS) December 31, 2021
The actress, who was in good health until her death, would have turned 100 on January 17th. “My 100th birthday … I can’t believe he’s coming,” she wrote on Twitter on Tuesday and shared an interview she gave on the occasion. Now a special program on the news channel CNN is said to be a reminder of her life.
A live switch was actually planned for her birthday party, reported CNN on Friday (December 31, 2021). “Everyone likes a party – and this one is going to be great,” White announced a week ago. “We are grateful for the decades of joy that they have given everyone,” the broadcaster quoted the producers of the film, Steve Boettcher and Mike Trinklein. “Betty always said she was the happiest old woman on two legs,” having had such a long career. And to be honest: We were the lucky ones to have had them for so long. “(Skr / afp / dpa)
Header list image: © Ringo HW Chiu / dpa
