Betty White

Betty Marion Ludden (née White; January 17, 1922 – December 31, 2021) was an American actress and comedian. A pioneer of the Golden Age of Television with a career spanning almost seven decades, she was noted for her vast number of television appearances acting in sitcoms, sketch comedy, and game shows. She produced and starred in the series Life with Elizabeth (1953–1955), thus becoming the first woman to produce a sitcom.

After moving from radio to television, White became a staple panelist of American game shows such as Password, Match Game, Tattletales, To Tell the Truth, The Hollywood Squares, and The $25,000 Pyramid. Dubbed "the first lady of game shows", she became the first woman to receive the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Game Show Host for the show Just Men! in 1983.

White's biggest roles include Sue Ann Nivens on the CBS sitcom The Mary Tyler Moore Show (1973–1977), Rose Nylund on the NBC sitcom The Golden Girls (1985–1992), and Elka Ostrovsky on the TV Land sitcom Hot in Cleveland (2010–2015). She had a late career resurgence when she starred in the romantic comedy film The Proposal (2009) and hosted Saturday Night Live the following year, garnering her a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series.

For her lengthy work in radio, television, and film, White twice earned the Guinness World Record for the longest TV career by a female entertainer in both 2014 and 2018. She received various awards and nominations, including seven Emmy Awards, three Screen Actors Guild Awards, and a Grammy Award. She received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame in 1995.

White guest starred and voiced the character Delia in the Season 3 episode "Escape from Party Island" and Dorothy and Ellen in the Season 7 episode "The Son Also Roses".

Trivia

• White's co-star from The Golden Girls, Rue McClanahan, guest starred and voiced the character Bunny Hicks in the Season 11 episode "Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow".

External links

• Betty White at IMDb
• Betty White at Wikipedia