Betty White Has Died at 99. Here’s How The Golden Girls Transformed Her From Star to Legend

Betty White was a well-known name in the 1950s. However, it was her contributions to society that made her famous. It Golden Girls This cemented her iconic status well before she died Dec. 31, at 99.

“I thought she would live forever,” White’s agent Jeff Witjas told PeopleA statement. “I will miss her terribly and so will the animal world that she loved so much.

When the show premiered in 1985, White was a natural as the innocent, kind-hearted Rose Nylund—who considered herself a wild woman because she dared to eat raw cookie dough. White cleverly imbued Rose with a gullible naïveté, letting her serve as the foil for Dorothy’s barbs and Blanche‘s eye rolls. Whether telling yet another St. Olaf story or doing one of her many selfless deeds, Rose just “wasn’t one to blow [her] own vertubenflugen.” And it was precisely that mix of humility, sweetness and loyalty that endeared her to viewers for decades.
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Besides, as Rose admitted, it wasn’t her fault her cousins have been marrying each other for generations.

White graduated from Beverly Hills High School and was as smart as Rose in real life. Her decades-long career as an actor in Hollywood continued even though many of her peers saw the possibilities disappear once they turned a certain age.

White started her television career while just a teenager—dancing “the Merry Widow Waltz” on an experimental TV show in 1939, when the medium was still in its infancy—and never really stopped. In fact, she entered the Guinness World Record book in 2014 as the holder for “longest TV career for an entertainer (female).”

Young actress with ambition and determination, she got a part in Parkay’s margarine commercial. After reportedly sitting around Fran Van Hartesveldt’s office for a while until he offered her a job, he finally agreed. Later, she spent six days per week working on Al Jarvis Variety Show.Hollywood Television. She also appeared in her sitcom called “The Sitcom,” which led her to produce her own show. Elizabeth: Life with Elizabeth. It was a feat that was as rare then as it is now, and she earned her first Emmy nomination for the work—just two years after the awards show came into existence.

Later, she had two versions—one a sitcom, one a talk show—of Betty White Show Starred in Mary Tyler Moore ShowSue Ann Nivens was the man-crazy HappyHomemaker Sue Ann Nivens and was a regular on shows like Password Match game It was her chance to help shape her future. Golden Girls cohorts in the years before the iconic show’s debut, earning a few guest spots on Maude Bea Arthur and Rue McClanahan star in Mama’s Family. White stated her favourite show was “The Simpsons.” It Pet SetThe show she produced, wrote and starred in was, According to reports, she could appear any creature that she wanted on the show. This is great news for the avid animal lover who also works tirelessly in animal welfare.

White, a comedy pioneer and actor who made a lasting impact in her field, would be remembered as an actress. It Golden GirlsWhite-as Rose was adored by new audiences, and the sitcom’s popularity earned them new fans.

The sitcom idea was almost an accident. Tony Thomas and Paul Junger Witt were the executive producers. They pitched a completely different show to NBC’s executives, who said they would be interested in a series about women around a certain age. (According to the show’s creators, that “certain age” was “hovering around late 50, early 60s.”) While the character of Dorothy Zbornak was written with Arthur in mind, a casting call went out to figure out who would play her roommates: Southern belle Blanche Devereaux, sassy Sicilian Sophia Petrillo, and wide-eyed Minnesota transplant Rose Nylund.

White spoke out about the 2010 election in 2010. Associated PressEveryone knew that the show would be special from the moment they read the pilot. “You get a lot of scripts mailed to you and not too many of them are good, but when this one came along it just hit the spot,” she said at the time. She also noted that they initially approached her “with the idea of me doing Blanche.”

White auditioned for the role of the seductive homeowner. But the director quickly struck gold. “When Betty came in, she read the part of Blanche, but [director] Jay Sandrich said, ‘Why have her do Blanche? That character was already played by her on Mary Tyler MooreRose, why not?’” creator Susan Harris told Vulture2017

White played the role of the daft Rose with great success and was awarded her third Primetime Emmy. The Golden Girls aired on NBC for seven years beginning in 1985, and White was nominated for Outstanding Actress for every year of the show’s run. White continued to play Rose in the spin-off series, even after the show was cancelled. The Golden Palace This lasted for only one season.

White was in her early 70s when she said goodbye to Rose for good–but her career was far from finished.

Her cast includes BobBob Newhart was her guest spot on the show in 1993. Later, she turned the spot that was originally supposed to have been a guest spot onto Cleveland is hotShe was only 88 when she took up a full-time job. In addition, she was a guest on The 70s Show, Boston LegalAnd Bones, and had a memorable turn as “Gammy” in the 2009 rom-com Proposal.

If Golden Girls went into syndication, and then became available for streaming, White’s understated comedic brilliance was introduced to a new generation—and they loved her. “She is just one of the most spectacular people on the planet,” Junger Witt told Vulture2017

Many would agree.

White, with a knowing wink and sarcastic humor, used her character as Rose the adorablely gullible Rose later in life to surprise audiences with surprisingly funny humor. She roasted William Shatner on Comedy Central and amazed the crowd with her outrageously rude speech. She also endorsed the controversial movie Deadpool movie, did vodka shots with David Letterman, or paid tribute to hip hop legend Queen Latifah on VH1’s Hip Hop Honors – All Hail Queens.

Some of her fans were so in love with her that they launched a Facebook campaign. Saturday Night LiveWhite to host an episode. This campaign gained sufficient traction online that it finally caught the eye of SNLLorne Michaels was the creator of the show and invited White (88) to be host in May 2010.

White admitted that despite spending decades on TV, she still had stage anxiety while hosting the show. White still won her fifth Primetime Emmy, which helped to make the role more popular. SNL Some of its best ratings are earned.

White was recognized for her exceptional career in September 2018 at the 70th Emmy Awards. White laughed about how long she’d been in Hollywood. “Somebody said something the other day [about how I’m] the First lady of television, and I took it as a big compliment,” White said. “Then I heard her say to her daughter, ‘Yeah, first lady–she’s that old! It was her first way.’”

White showed her appreciation for her career and gratitude by accepting the Guinness World Record. “I have no regrets at all,” she said in 2013. “I consider myself to be the luckiest broad on two feet.”