Betty White

Betty Marion White (January 17, 1922 - December 31, 2021) was an American actress and comedian. A pioneer of early television with a career spanning seven decades, she was noted for her vast television appearances acting in sitcoms, sketch comedy, and game shows. She produced and starred in the series Life with Elizabeth (19531955), making her the first woman to produce a sitcom. After moving from radio to television, White became a staple panelist of American game shows such as Password, Match Game, Tattletales, To Tell the Truth, The Hollywood Squares, and The $25,000 Pyramid. Dubbed "the first lady of game shows", she became the first woman to receive the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Game Show Host for the show Just Men! in 1983. She then became more widely known for her guest and recurring appearances on shows such as The Carol Burnett Show, The Bold and the Beautiful and Boston Legal. White's biggest roles 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). She had a late career resurgence when she starred in the romantic comedy film The Proposal (2009) and hosted Saturday Night Live the following year, garnering her a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series. The 2018 documentary Betty White: First Lady of Television detailed her life and career. For her lengthy work in radio, television, and film, White twice earned the Guinness World Record for the longest TV career by a female entertainer in both 2014 and 2018. She received various awards and nominations, including seven Emmy Awards, three Screen Actors Guild Awards, and a Grammy Award. She received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and inducted into the Television Hall of Fame in 1995. Betty Marion White was born in Oak Park, Illinois, on January 17, 1922. She later clarified that "Betty" was her legal name and not a shortened version of "Elizabeth" as some people had assumed.