Famed actress Betty White has passed away at the age of 99.

Ms. White is well known as Sue Ann Nivens on The Mary Tyler Moore Show and as Rose Nylund on The Golden Girls and The Golden Palace, as well as Elka Ostrovsky on Hot in Cleveland.

Ms. White’s career spanned almost her entire life, starting out in radio at the age of 8. She then transitioned over to television as she got older.

She would receive the first ever Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Game Show Host in 1983 and was well known as the “the first lady of game shows” after appearing in a number of game shows over the years, including on such programmes as Password, Match Game, Tattletales, To Tell the Truth, The Hollywood Squares, and The $25,000 Pyramid.

Following the cancellation of the Mary Tyler Moore Show, she starred in The Betty White Show which ran for one season.

Her television career, at over 80 yeas, is a record according to the Guinness World Records.

Ms. White was born on January 17th, 1922 in Oak Park, Illinois to Horace Logan White and Christine Tess. She would have a connection to Canada as both her grandmothers were Canadian, but she also has Danish, English, Greek, and Welsh ancestry.

She would graduate from Beverly Hills Unified School District in 1939. During World War II, she joined the American Women’s Voluntary Services.

Ms. White considered her role on the Mary Tyler Moore Show to be the highlight of her career, starting out as an occasional guest appearance as Sue Ann Nivens before becoming a full time member. However, she would later land the role of Rose Nyland on The Golden Girls, which would be her biggest hit. She had originally been cast as Blanche, but switched roles with Rue McClanahan as she didn’t want to do another role that was similar to Sue Ann Nivens. She would receive an Emmy nomination every year of the series for Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series winning once. Her co-star, Estelle Getty, would the only other cast member who received a nominated for an Emmy every year, albeit in the Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series category.

Following the departure of Bea Arthur, she would continue on in The Golden Palace, the sequel to The Golden Girls, and made guest appearances as Rose in the other two spin-offs: Empty Nest and Nurses.

Ms. White was married three times: to Dick Barker, Lane Allen, and most famously to Allen Ludden. Together with Mr. Ludden, she would appear on The Odd Couple featuring Felix and Oscar competing on Password.

Starting in the 1970s, Ms. White was an animal welfare advocate.

Her awards include five Primetime Emmys, one Daytime Emmy, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, and one Grammy. She also received the Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award in 2009 and the 2015 Daytime Emmy Lifetime Achievement Award.

Ms. White died of natural causes on December 31st, 2021, less than three weeks prior to her 100th birthday.

“Thank you for being a friend’, Betty White: