Video: 'Remembering Betty White'

(Tuesday, January 17, 1922) — Actress and comedian Betty White, a pioneer of early television with a career spanning seven decades, was born Betty Marion White today in Oak Park, Illinois.

After making the transition to television from radio, White would became a staple panelist of American game shows.

Her biggest acting roles would 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).

Video: 'Betty White.Documentary'

White would gain renewed popularity after her appearance in the 2009 romantic comedy film The Proposal (2009), and was subsequently the subject of a successful Facebook-based campaign to host Saturday Night Live in 2010, garnering her a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series.

She would also become a pet enthusiast and animal welfare advocate, who worked with organizations including the Los Angeles Zoo Commission, The Morris Animal Foundation, African Wildlife Foundation, and Actors and Others for Animals.

White would die of natural causes at her home in the Brentwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, on December 31, 2021, at the age of 99, two-and-a-half weeks before her 100th birthday.