A headshot portrait of Betty White wearing a veiled hat, circa 1955.
Gallery of Betty White
1955
Betty White
Gallery of Betty White
1975
Betty White
Gallery of Betty White
1977
Betty White
Gallery of Betty White
1983
Los Angeles, California, USA
Betty White attends an event in September 1983 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Ron Eisenberg)
Gallery of Betty White
2008
777 Chick Hearn Ct, Los Angeles, CA 90015, USA
Betty White onstage during the 60th Primetime Emmy Awards held at Nokia Theatre on September 21, 2008, in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter)
Gallery of Betty White
2009
1 Pennsylvania Plaza, New York, NY 10119, USA
Betty White visits Fuse's "No. 1 Countdown" at fuse Studios on June 11, 2009, in New York City. (Photo by Bryan Bedder)
Gallery of Betty White
2011
465 N Beverly Dr, Beverly Hills, CA 90210, USA
Betty White during a portrait session on March 29, 2011, at the Museum of Radio and TV in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Bob Riha, Jr.)
Gallery of Betty White
2012
100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, CA 91608, USA
Betty White arrives at the premiere of Universal Pictures and Illumination Entertainment's 3D-CG "Dr. Seuss' The Lorax" at Citywalk on February 19, 2012, in Universal City, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter)
Gallery of Betty White
2012
5333 Zoo Dr, Los Angeles, CA 90027, USA
Betty White attends Betty "White Out" Tour at The Los Angeles Zoo with The Lifeline Program at Los Angeles Zoo on December 11, 2012, in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Brian To)
Gallery of Betty White
2015
4024 Radford Ave, Studio City, CA 91604, USA
Betty White poses at the celebration of her 93rd birthday on the set of "Hot in Cleveland" held at CBS Studios - Radford on January 16, 2015, in Studio City, California. (Photo by Mark Davis)
Gallery of Betty White
Betty White sits in a canvas chair with her name written on the back, looking over her shoulder in a backyard garden. (Photo by Hulton Archive)
Gallery of Betty White
Promotional studio portrait of Betty White smiling and wearing a patterned dress with a heart-shaped brooch. (Photo by Hulton Archive)
Gallery of Betty White
Betty White stands smiling with her husband, TV producer and host Allen Ludden (d. 1981), at an International Broadcasting Awards dinner tribute to Mary Tyler Moore. (Photo by Frank Edwards)
Gallery of Betty White
Betty White during the time she was playing Rose Nylund in the television series, 'The Golden Girls'. (Photo by Frank Capri)
Gallery of Betty White
(L-R) Actresses Estelle Getty, Beatrice Arthur, Betty White and Rue McClanahan of television series The Golden Girls, all wearing gold and silver gowns. (Photo by Time Life Pictures)
Gallery of Betty White
Betty White
Gallery of Betty White
1401 S Oak Knoll Ave, Pasadena, CA 91106, USA
Betty White speaks onstage during the Informal Session: Betty White's Off Their Rockers" panel during the NBCUniversal portion of the 2012 Winter TCA Tour at The Langham Huntington Hotel and Spa on January 6, 2012, in Pasadena, California. (Photo by Frederick M. Brown)
Gallery of Betty White
Betty White
Gallery of Betty White
Betty White
Achievements
1995
6747 Hollywood Blvd, Los Angeles, CA, USA
Betty White has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. She received her star in 1995 and as an honor to her, it was placed next to, her beloved husband, Allen Ludden’s star at 6747 Hollywood Blvd.
Membership
Awards
Emmy Award
1996
300 E Green St, Pasadena, CA 91101, USA
Betty White holding her Emmy Award in the press room at the 48th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards on September 8, 1996, at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium in Pasadena, California
TV Land Award
2004
6215 Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90028, USA
Betty White speaks onstage at the 2nd Annual TV Land Awards held on March 7, 2004, at The Hollywood Palladium, in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter)
Britannia Award
2010
The Century Plaza, 2025 Avenue of the Stars, Los Angeles, CA 90067, USA
Betty White accepts the Charlie Chaplin Britannia Award for Excellence In Comedy onstage during the BAFTA Los Angeles 2010 Britannia Awards held at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza on November 4, 2010, in Century City, California. (Photo by Frazer Harrison)
Screen Actors Guild Award
2010
665 W Jefferson Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90007, USA
Betty White poses with the Life Achievement Award in the press room at the 16th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards held at the Shrine Auditorium on January 23, 2010, in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Frazer Harrison)
Daytime Emmy Award
2015
461 S California St, Burbank, CA 91505, USA
Betty White accepts the Daytime Emmy Lifetime Achievement Award onstage during The 42nd Annual Daytime Emmy Awards at Warner Bros. Studios on April 26, 2015, in Burbank, California. (Photo by Jesse Grant)
Betty White has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. She received her star in 1995 and as an honor to her, it was placed next to, her beloved husband, Allen Ludden’s star at 6747 Hollywood Blvd.
Betty White holding her Emmy Award in the press room at the 48th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards on September 8, 1996, at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium in Pasadena, California
Betty White speaks onstage at the 2nd Annual TV Land Awards held on March 7, 2004, at The Hollywood Palladium, in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter)
Betty White onstage during the 60th Primetime Emmy Awards held at Nokia Theatre on September 21, 2008, in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter)
The Century Plaza, 2025 Avenue of the Stars, Los Angeles, CA 90067, USA
Betty White accepts the Charlie Chaplin Britannia Award for Excellence In Comedy onstage during the BAFTA Los Angeles 2010 Britannia Awards held at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza on November 4, 2010, in Century City, California. (Photo by Frazer Harrison)
Betty White poses with the Life Achievement Award in the press room at the 16th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards held at the Shrine Auditorium on January 23, 2010, in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Frazer Harrison)
100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, CA 91608, USA
Betty White arrives at the premiere of Universal Pictures and Illumination Entertainment's 3D-CG "Dr. Seuss' The Lorax" at Citywalk on February 19, 2012, in Universal City, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter)
Betty White attends Betty "White Out" Tour at The Los Angeles Zoo with The Lifeline Program at Los Angeles Zoo on December 11, 2012, in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Brian To)
Betty White accepts the Daytime Emmy Lifetime Achievement Award onstage during The 42nd Annual Daytime Emmy Awards at Warner Bros. Studios on April 26, 2015, in Burbank, California. (Photo by Jesse Grant)
Betty White attends The 41st Annual People's Choice Awards at Nokia Theatre LA Live on January 7, 2015, in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Mazur)
Betty White poses at the celebration of her 93rd birthday on the set of "Hot in Cleveland" held at CBS Studios - Radford on January 16, 2015, in Studio City, California. (Photo by Mark Davis)
Betty White stands smiling with her husband, TV producer and host Allen Ludden (d. 1981), at an International Broadcasting Awards dinner tribute to Mary Tyler Moore. (Photo by Frank Edwards)
(L-R) Actresses Estelle Getty, Beatrice Arthur, Betty White and Rue McClanahan of television series The Golden Girls, all wearing gold and silver gowns. (Photo by Time Life Pictures)
Betty White speaks onstage during the Informal Session: Betty White's Off Their Rockers" panel during the NBCUniversal portion of the 2012 Winter TCA Tour at The Langham Huntington Hotel and Spa on January 6, 2012, in Pasadena, California. (Photo by Frederick M. Brown)
(Hollywood icon Betty White and actor Tom Sullivan present...)
Hollywood icon Betty White and actor Tom Sullivan present the story of a guide dog named Dinah and the extraordinary difference she made in every life she touched.
(Here We Go Again is a behind-the-scenes look at Betty’s c...)
Here We Go Again is a behind-the-scenes look at Betty’s career from her start on the radio to her first show, Hollywood on Television, to several iterations of The Betty White Show and much, much more. Packed with wonderful anecdotes about famous personalities and friendships, stories of Betty’s off-screen life, and the comedienne’s trademark humor, this deliciously entertaining book will give readers an entrée into Betty’s fascinating life, confirming yet again why we can’t get enough of this funny lady.
(Sometimes you can't see what matters most until it's gone...)
Sometimes you can't see what matters most until it's gone. Brenden McCarthy feels like he's lost everything. His fiancee. His independence. And his passion for life. All due to one tragic misstep while mountain climbing that cost him his sight. But he's about to gain the last thing he ever expected. A big-hearted black Labrador named Nelson who's given one last shot at being a Seeing Eye dog. Both are beyond hope and resigned to live alone. And both are about to experience a bond of friendship that develops when they least expect it. Together is a heartwarming story for anyone who's ever lost sight of what matters most in life... but has hope that there's more.
(The New York Times bestseller from the beloved actress an...)
The New York Times bestseller from the beloved actress and Hollywood icon who's made us laugh on shows from The Mary Tyler Moore Show to Golden Girls to Saturday Night Live! In this candid take on everything from the unglamorous reality behind red-carpet affairs to her beauty regimen (“I have no idea what color my hair is, and I never intend to find out”), Betty White shares her observations about life, celebrity, and love (for humans and animals).
America's sweetheart, impassioned lifelong animal welfare advocate, and New York Times-bestselling author Betty White offers intimate and funny stories about her animal friends at the zoo, enhanced by gorgeous four-color photographs.
(A controversial political appointee triggers DC gamesmans...)
A controversial political appointee triggers DC gamesmanship and scandal. Henry Fonda, Walter Pidgeon and Charles Laughton in Otto Preminger's film of Allen Drury's best seller.
(On Halloween night in 1965, a group of high school pranks...)
On Halloween night in 1965, a group of high school pranksters - the Hollywood Knights - are enraged by the Beverly Hills Residents' Association's success in arranging for the shutdown and demolition of their favorite hangout, 'Tubby's Drive-In' diner, which is to be replaced by an office building.
(The setting is the evacuated town of Huntingburg, where a...)
The setting is the evacuated town of Huntingburg, where armored car driver Tom is in deep danger. A gang of thieves figures the flood is its chance to heist the $3 million Tom's transporting from local banks.
(A stressed-out senior executive at a shopping channel is ...)
A stressed-out senior executive at a shopping channel is praying for a miracle that will lift the network's ratings and save his job. Then, from out of nowhere, a guru walks into his life!
(After 15 years together, Ben (Bruce Willis) and Katie (Mi...)
After 15 years together, Ben (Bruce Willis) and Katie (Michelle Pfeiffer) face a turning point in their married life: do they end their story or begin a new chapter?
(An animated, musical version of Mark Twain's classic nove...)
An animated, musical version of Mark Twain's classic novel about the adventures of Tom Sawyer, along with his friends Huck Finn and Becky Thatcher. While spending most of his days avoiding school, work, and his Aunt Polly, Tom manages to get himself into trouble on a regular basis.
(The magical animated story of a young boy who finds a gol...)
The magical animated story of a young boy who finds a goldfish on the beach - and when the fish turns into a little girl, an incredible adventure begins! A delight for the whole family.
When soon-to-be-married Jessica, (Amy Smart) meets champion West Coast Swing dancer Jake, sparks fly but their chemistry is threatened by her impending marriage and his bitter former dance partner. As they decide to compete for the world title, their passion ignites against a backdrop of spectacular dancing and exhilarating music.
(Successful PR pro Marni heads home for her older brother'...)
Successful PR pro Marni heads home for her older brother's wedding and discovers that he's marrying her high school arch nemesis, who's conveniently forgotten their problematic past.
(Beatrice Arthur, Rue McClanahan, Betty White and Estelle ...)
Beatrice Arthur, Rue McClanahan, Betty White and Estelle Getty star as four Southern Florida seniors sharing a house, their dreams and a whole lot of cheesecake. Bright, promiscuous, clueless and hilarious, these lovely, mismatched ladies form the perfect circle of friends.
(Betty White, Valerie Bertinelli, Jane Leeves & Wendie Mal...)
Betty White, Valerie Bertinelli, Jane Leeves & Wendie Malick star in this comedy about three best friends from LA who find their lives changed forever when their plane headed for Paris makes an emergency landing in Cleveland.
Betty White is an American comedic actress who has starred on such programs as The Mary Tyler Moore Show, The Golden Girls and Hot in Cleveland. White is an actress the longest television career of any female entertainer, spanning 80 years.
Background
Ethnicity:
White's father was of half Danish and half English descent. Her mother was of half Greek and half English and Welsh ancestry.
Betty Marion White was born in Oak Park, Illinois, on January 17, 1922. She was the only child of her mother Christine Tess and father Horace Logan White, an executive in a lighting company. When she was 2, she moved to Los Angeles with her family. To make extra money, her father would build radios and sell them wherever he could. Since it was the height of the Depression, and hardly anyone had a sizable income, he would trade the radios in exchange for other goods, including dogs on some occasions.
Education
White attended Horace Mann School in Beverly Hills and Beverly Hills High School, famously used as a filming location for popular titles such as Clueless and It's a Wonderful Life, where she was a member of the 1939 graduating class. Her interest in wildlife was sparked by family vacations to the High Sierras. She aspired to become a forest ranger but was unable to accomplish this dream because women were not allowed to serve as rangers. Instead, White pursued an interest in writing. She wrote and played the lead in a graduation play at Horace Mann School and discovered her interest in performing. Inspired by her idols, Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy, she decided to pursue a career as an actress.
Betty White joined the radio for reading commercials and playing small parts in plays after being rejected by movie companies. Three months after graduation in 1939, she made her debut appearance on television by singing songs from the opera called The Merry Widow. White found work modeling, and her first professional acting job was at the Bliss Hayden Little Theatre. When World War II broke out, she put her career on hold and volunteered for the American Women's Voluntary Services. Her assignment included the transportation of military supplies through California. She also participated in events for troops before they were deployed overseas.
In the 1940s White acted on various radio shows, and in 1949 she began regularly appearing on television, working as a “girl Friday” on Hollywood on Television. In 1940, she also acted in plays The Great Gildersleeve, Blondie, and This is Your FBI and started her own radio program called The Betty White Show.
In the early 1950s, White founded her production company Bandy Productions in 1952 and launched her first television series, Life with Elizabeth, which she developed with George Tibbles. "He wrote and I produced," White explained to The Hollywood Reporter. "I was one of the first women producers in Hollywood." The show's premise came from a sketch she had done previously on local television. The show Life with Elizabeth gave twenty-eight-year-old White full control on both sides of the camera. White played the title role - a married woman whose various predicaments test the patience of her husband - in addition to co-creating and producing the show, which ran until 1955. Two years later she starred in the series Date with the Angels, a comedic look at domestic life. White subsequently became a frequent guest on television game shows, including To Tell the Truth, What’s My Line?, and Password. The latter was hosted by Allen Ludden.
Continuing to work on television, White made guest appearances on such shows as The United States Steel Hour and Petticoat Junction. She was also a favorite of talk-show host Jack Paar, who often had her on the Tonight Show, and she made regular appearances on game shows such as Password. She met her third husband, Allen Ludden, on that show in 1961.
White's career received an enormous boost from her next television series, The Mary Tyler Moore Show. Playing Sue Ann Nivens, White showed audiences that behind her sweet smile lay a sharp wit. Her character served as a co-worker to the show's star, Mary Tyler Moore, in a Minneapolis television newsroom. When she wasn't pursuing her male colleagues, Sue Ann could be counted on to make funny, yet poignant quips at Moore's expense. White won two Emmy Awards for her work on the series.
In sharp contrast to her Sue Ann character, White played the sweet and naive Rose Nylund on the popular 1980s sitcom The Golden Girls, along with co-stars Rue McClanahan, Bea Arthur, and Estelle Getty. The show looked at the lives of four, elderly, female friends, and its success proved that there was an audience for programs featuring older characters. The series landed among the top-ranked shows during its seven seasons on the air, and it won numerous awards, including another Emmy Award for White.
After The Golden Girls went off the air in 1992, White appeared in the short-lived spin-off, Golden Palace. She had better luck as a guest star, appearing on numerous television series. She even played herself on The John Larroquette Show in 1996, which earned her another Emmy Award-win.
In December 2006, White joined the soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful in the role of Ann Douglas (where she would make 22 appearances), the long-lost mother of the show's matriarch, Stephanie Forrester, played by Susan Flannery. She also began a recurring role in ABC's Boston Legal from 2005 to 2008 as the calculating, blackmailing gossip-monger Catherine Piper, a role she originally played as a guest star on The Practice in 2004.
White appeared several times on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson appearing in many sketches and returned to Password in its latest incarnation, Million Dollar Password, on June 12, 2008, (episode #3), participating in the Million Dollar Challenge at the end of the show. On May 19, 2008, she appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show, taking part in the host's Mary Tyler Moore Show reunion special alongside every surviving cast member of the series. Beginning in 2007, White was featured in television commercials for PetMeds, highlighting her interest in animal rights and welfare.
While she worked steadily over the years, White's career caught fire again in 2010. She appeared in a humorous candy bar ad during that year's Super Bowl, which quickly became an audience favorite. Thanks largely to a Facebook campaign, that May White became the oldest person to host Saturday Night Live. She was initially reluctant to do the show, explaining to Newsweek that it "was the scariest thing I've ever done. It was really funny stuff, but it was a challenge."
Also in 2010, White returned to series television with a role on the sitcom Hot in Cleveland, alongside stars Valerie Bertinelli, Jane Leeves, and Wendie Malick. She first only signed on for the pilot, but she later joined the cast. "It's just a terrific show. The chemistry between the girls is so great," she told Newsweek.
White has continued to enjoy her latest wave of success. In addition to her work in Hot in Cleveland, she also hosted Betty White's Off Their Rockers. This hidden camera show, which aired from 2012 into 2017, featured a mature set of merry pranksters who play jokes on younger generations. White picked an Emmy Award nomination for her work on the show in 2012.
That same year, White celebrated her 90th birthday with an all-star television special. Ellen Degeneres, Mary Tyler Moore, Carl Reiner, Tina Fey, and Ed Asner were among the many celebrities who helped honor White on the program.
In August 2018, PBS aired Betty White: First Lady of Television. The retrospective looked back at her 80-year career in show business, highlighted by her early variety series work, her standout roles on The Mary Tyler Moore Show and The Golden Girls, and her resurgence as a sharp-tongued senior in her later years.
(Over its seven-year run, The Mary Tyler Moore Show won tw...)
1971
Religion
Betty White is a member of the Unity Christian Church.
Politics
White is a serious Democrat from the old school. Her endorsements include Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Adlai Stevenson, John F. Kennedy, Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, and Barack Obama. As Obama was gearing up for re-election in 2012, White said: "I very, very much favor Barack Obama in the election. I like what Obama has done and how he represents us." White's lifetime campaign contribution total of $15,500 has gone exclusively to Democrats and Democrat political organizations.
Views
White is a pet enthusiast and an animal health advocate who works with animal organizations, including the Los Angeles Zoo Commission, the Morris Animal Foundation, African Wildlife Foundation, and Actors & Others for Animals. Her interest in animal rights and welfare began in the early 1970s while she was both producing and hosting the syndicated series, The Pet Set, which spotlighted celebrities and their pets.
In September 2011, White teamed up with English singer Luciana to produce a remix of her song "I'm Still Hot". The song was released digitally on September 22 and the video later premiered on October 6. It was made for a campaign for a life settlement program, The Lifeline. White served as a judge alongside Whoopi Goldberg and Wendy Diamond for the American Humane Association's Hero Dog Awards airing on The Hallmark Channel on November 8, 2011.
White is also an ethical vegan and a gay marriage supporter.
Quotations:
"I'm not into animal rights. I'm only into animal welfare and health. I've been with the Morris Animal Foundation since the '70s. We're a health organization. We fund campaign health studies for dogs, cats, lizards, and wildlife. I've worked with the L.A. Zoo for about the same length of time. I get my animal fixes!"
"I am interested in a lot of things - not just show business and my passion for animals. I try to keep current in what's going on in the world. I do mental exercises. I don't have any trouble memorizing lines because of the crossword puzzles I do every day to keep my mind a little limber. I don't sit and vegetate."
"I'm so compulsive about stuff, I know if I had ever gotten pregnant, of course, that would have been my whole focus. But I didn't choose to have children because I'm focused on my career. And I just don't think, as compulsive as I am, that I could manage both."
"I don't care who anybody sleeps with. If a couple has been together all that time - and there are gay relationships that are more solid than some heterosexual ones - I think it's fine if they want to get married. I don't know how people can get so anti-something."
"The audience today has heard every joke. They know every plot. They know where you're going before you even start. That's a tough audience to surprise, and a tough audience to write for. It's much more competitive now, because the audience is so much more - I want to say sophisticated."
Membership
As of 2009, White is the president emerita of the Morris Animal Foundation, where she has served as a trustee of the organization since 1971. She has been a member of the board of directors of the Greater Los Angeles Zoo Association since 1974. Additionally, White served the association as a Zoo Commissioner for eight years.
Morris Animal Foundation
1971
Greater Los Angeles Zoo Association
1974
Personality
Despite being seen as everybody’s favorite granny, Betty White has quite an adventurous streak in her. She is well-known for being a bit of a card hustler and has been known to partake in poker tournaments on behalf of charity events quite often. Besides doing it for the fun and love of the game, she is also considered to be pretty good at it and knows how to play a hand.
Physical Characteristics:
Betty White has a height of 5 feet 4 inches (163 cm), and her weight is 58 kg. She also has grey hair and blue eyes.
Interests
poker
Politicians
Barack Obama, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Adlai Stevenson, John F. Kennedy, Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton
Connections
In 1945, White married Dick Barker, a U.S. Army Air Corps pilot. The marriage was short-lived. In 1947, she married Lane Allen, a Hollywood agent. This marriage ended in divorce in 1949.
On June 14, 1963, White married television host and personality Allen Ludden, whom she had met on his game show Password as a celebrity guest in 1961, and her legal name was changed to Betty White Ludden. He proposed to White at least twice before she accepted. The couple appeared together in an episode of The Odd Couple featuring Felix's and Oscar's appearance on Password. Ludden appeared as a guest panelist on Match Game, with White sitting in the audience. (She was prompted to criticize one of Ludden's wrong answers on camera during an episode of Match Game '74.) The two appeared together on the Match Game panel in 1974, 1975 and 1980.
In October 2011, White was awarded an honorary degree and white doctors coat by Washington State University at the Washington State Veterinary Medical Association's centennial gala in Yakima, Washington.
In 1955, Betty White was the honorary mayor of Hollywood, California.