Iconic American comedian and actress Betty White, whose groundbreaking career spanned decades, has died at age 99, US media outlets have reported.
Jeff Witjas, White’s agent and close friend, told People magazine in a statement on Friday that “even though Betty was about to be 100, I thought she would live forever”.
I will miss her terribly and so will the animal world that she loved so much. I don’t think Betty ever feared passing because she always wanted to be with her most beloved husband Allen Ludden. She believed she would be with him again,” Witjas said.
Citing law enforcement sources, TMZ first reported that White died at her home on Friday morning, less than three weeks before her 100th birthday on January 17.
The Washington Post also confirmed White’s death, citing her agent. No cause of death was specified, the newspaper said.
Perhaps best known for her memorable roles on “The Golden Girls” and “The Mary Tyler Moore Show”, White’s decades-long career blazed a trail for other female comedians and actresses in the United States.
In a youth-driven industry where an actress above age 40 often faces career twilight, White remained a star in her 60s and became a pop culture phenomenon in her 80s and 90s.
Playing on her imminent likability, White was still starring in the TV sitcom “Hot in Cleveland” at age 92, until it was cancelled in late 2014.
White said her longevity was a result of good health, good fortune and loving her work.
“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 honoured for her long career. “It’s incredible that you can stay in a career this long and still have people put up with you. I wish they did that at home.”
In her last Twitter post on December 28, White shared a recent interview she gave to People magazine before her centennial birthday.
She said she was “so lucky to be in such good health and feel so good” at her age, telling the US outlet that she was “born a cockeyed optimist”.
Source: Aljazeerah
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