Betty
White,
a
star
of
the
American
television
sitcom
"The
Golden
Girls" and
"The
Mary
Tyler
Moore
Show,"
died
at
the
age
of
99
on
Friday.
The
actress
was
born
in
1922
and
was
set
to
celebrate
her
100th
birthday
on
January
17.
Her
agent,
Jeff
Witjar,
told
People
magazine:
"Even
though
Betty
was
about
to
be
100,
I
thought
she
would
live
forever."
She
holds
the
Guinness
World
Record
for
"Longest
TV
Career
for
an
Entertainer."
Biden,
actors,
and
comedians
react
US
President
Joe
Biden
told
reporters:
"That's
a
shame.
She
was
a
lovely
lady." On
Twitter
he
described
her
as
a
cultural
icon.
His
wife
Jill
Biden
added:
"Who
didn't
love
Betty
White?
We're
so
sad
about
her
death."
Her
combination
of
sweetness
and
edginess
also
made
her
popular
despite
her
age.
She
had
a
long-running
tongue-in-cheek
relationship
with
actor
Ryan
Reynolds
who
portrayed
her
grandson
in
the
2009
film
"Proposal"
in
the
past
week
joking
he
has
a
thing
for
her.
He
paid
tribute
to
her
on
Twitter
shortly
after
her
death
was
announced
"She
managed
to
grow
very
old
and
somehow,
not
old
enough.
We'll
miss
you,
Betty," he
wrote.
Born
in
Oakland,
Illinois,
in
1922,
White
started
her
entertainment
career
in
the
late
1930s
in
talk
radio
and
continued
to
appear
on
screen
well
into
her
90s
including
a
starring
role
in
"Hot
in
Cleveland."
In
2010,
at
age
88,
White
became
the
oldest-ever
host
of
the
American
comedy
sketch
show
"Saturday
Night
Live" an
experience
she
called
"probably
the
most
fun
I've
ever
had,
and
the
scariest."
"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,"
talkshow
host
Seth
Meyers,
wrote
Twitter.
But
it
is
for
her
role
as
ditzy
and
often
naive
"Rose"
in
"The
Golden
Girls"
that
she
would
be
remembered
best.
White
star
opposite
Bea
Arthur,
Rue
McClanahan
and
Estelle
Getty
in
the
sitcom
about
four
older
women
sharing
a
house
in
Miami.
She
won
an
Emmy
for
the
role.
In
all,
she
won
five
primetime
Emmys,
two
daytime
awards
including
one
for
lifetime
achievement
and
a
regional
Emmy
in
Los
Angeles.
"It's
incredible
that
I'm
still
in
this
business
and
that
you
are
still
putting
up
with
me,"
White
said
in
an
appearance
at
the
2018
Emmy
Awards
ceremony,
where
she
was
honored
for
her
longevity.
"It's
incredible
that
you
can
stay
in
a
career
this
long
and
still
have
people
put
up
with
you,"
White
said.
"I
wish
they
did
that
at
home."
She
once
told
the
Associated
Press
there
is
no
trick
in
growing
old
joyously:
"Don't
try
to
be
young."
"Just
open
your
mind.
Stay
interested
in
stuff.
There
are
so
many
things
I
won't
live
long
enough
to
find
out
about,
but
I'm
still
curious
about
them."