The beloved actress, comedian and American Icon Betty White had died on Friday, weeks before her centennial birthday.
Known as a “Golden Girl” for her role as Rose Nylund, White starred in eight shows prior to her death and upheld the longest running career for any woman in television history, stemming back from 1939. She was a pioneer in television with 115 acting credits to her name.
White was noted for her work on screen, and as one of the first women to excerpt control off camera. She made history as one of the first women to produce a sitcom titled "Life with Elizabeth". Before the Golden Girls, she was known for her role as Sue Ann Nivens on the CBS sitcom the Mary Moore Show. Following her comedic role as Nivens, White got her starring role on “The Betty White Show”.
She made appearances in the radio in 1940, on programs such as “Blondie”, “The Gildersleve” and “This is Your FBI”. She eventually got her own radio program.
In 1949, she worked on a television variety show with Al Jarvis called "Hollywood on Television", which she eventually co-hosted. Since then, White took on more television roles.
Throughout her lifetime, White won 5 Primetime Emmy Awards which including two for 'Mary Tyler Moore', one for "Golden Girls", and one for her 1975 'SNL' appearance. She also earned Screen Actors Guild Awards, American Comedy Awards and even a 2012 Grammy.
White was also a nominee for several Golden Globes, received many Lifetime Achievement Awards and was honored through several organizations.
White was preparing to celebrate her 100th birthday on Jan.17. In an interview with People Magazine, she said "I'm so lucky to be in such good health and feel so good at this age," said the veteran actress. "It's amazing."
A movie was planned to celebrate her milestone birthday. A long list of friends including Ryan Reynolds, Tina Fey, Robert Redford, Lin Manuel- Miranda, Clint Eastwood, Morgan Freeman, Jay Leno, Carol Burnett, Craig Ferguson, Jimmy Kimmel, Valerie Bertinelli, James Corden, Wendy Malick, and others were scheduled to participate.
It is not clear how White’s passing affected the screening.
Many took to social media in response to White’s passing. Actor Ryan Reynolds, who starred with White in the 2009 movie “The Proposal” tweeted “world looks different” and said that White “was a defying expectation” and "managed to grow very old and somehow, not old enough".
