10 Milestones In Life Of A One-of-a-kind Legend, Betty Whites

Margot Nolan
Mar 29, 2022
Mar 29, 2022

Betty Marion White Ludden was globally known as an actress and a comedian. With a career spanning seven decades, White was noted for her massive work in the Entertainment industry. She was the first woman to work both in front of and behind the camera. She was a living legend.
For all she dedicated to her career, Betty White has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, becoming a national treasure. Everyone loves her, and she is called "America's Sweetheart" by her admirers, no matter how many years have passed. Unfortunately, the legend whom we all wished she would live forever, passed away just weeks before her 100th birthday. In a statement to People magazine, her agent, Jeff Witjas said: "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".
As big fans of Betty White, we chose to pay our respects to her by revisiting the most significant events and milestones in her life. Scroll down!

#1 Betty White was a living legend.

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Betty White was born in 1922, which means she witnessed major historical events like the Second World War. She's also older than "sliced bread," which didn't appear on the scene until 1928.

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In 1939, she started her career by dancing on an experimental TV broadcast while dressing in her high school graduation gown.
Betty White went on to conquer American television and become a Hollywood darling after that. She can sing, act, and has a wicked sense of humor, making her a popular guest on game shows and comedy shows.

#2 She was the first woman to produce a national program and one of the first sitcom stars on TV.

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Betty White was the lead actress and producer of the comedy Life With Elizabeth.
Over the next few decades, this dazzling star continued to grace our screens with series like The Mary Tyler Moore Show, The Betty White Show, The Golden Girls, and Hot in Cleveland, among others.

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#3 Betty White holds the Guinness World Record for a Female Entertainer's Longest TV Career.

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In 2014, she was honored with the title for her 74-year career. Almost a decade has passed, and it seems that no one can take her honor away.

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She admitted to being a lover of Guinness World Records in an interview with the organization.
"The book has always been fascinating to me. I can’t believe I’m now associated with it. I am amazed at some of the records they keep. The longest fingernails?!?" – and even her reactions are adorable!

#4 Betty White enchanted people of all ages.

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Betty White was an exception to the rule since most Hollywood stars fall into obscurity over time. She has appeared in a variety of films and television shows throughout the last 80 years.
After starring in a chocolate ad during the 2010 Super Bowl, she became a fan favorite. A Facebook campaign was also started to get her to host Saturday Night Live, and she became the show's oldest host.

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She stayed trendy and hip, even appearing in a music video and contributing her voice to animated creatures in SpongeBob SquarePants and Toy Story 4. (Her character was adorably named Bitey White).

#5 She was also a published author and an animal activist.

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In the 1980s and 1990s, Betty White published many books, including Betty White In Person and Here We Go Again: My Life in Television.

If You Ask Me (And of Course You Won't) and Betty & Friends: My Life at the Zoo were both released in 2011.

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Betty White was an animal lover who worked with a variety of organizations to promote the health of our furry friends.

#6 Betty White's real love passed over four decades ago, and she lived out her days alone.

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Betty White had been married twice before meeting her soulmate. Dick Barker, a US Air Force pilot, was her first husband, and Lane Allen, a Hollywood talent agency, was her second. Unfortunately, neither marriage worked out.
In 1961, when she appeared as a guest on Allen Ludden's game program Password, our sassy girl finally met her match. In 1963, the two married after an amazing romance.

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Betty White said in an interview with Oprah Winfrey that her biggest regret was losing a full year by saying "No" to Ludden's offers because that time could have been spent together.
Ludden died of cancer in 1981, and Betty White never married again. When asked why, she simply said, " When you’ve had the best, who needs the rest?".

#7 Betty White was also honored with several honorary titles.

For becoming the first female producer of a sitcom, she was called "Mayor of Hollywood." In a documentary, she was also named "The First Lady of Television" and "The First Lady of Game Shows."
Betty White was also awarded the title of "Kentucky Colonel," the highest honor given by the Governor of Kentucky.

#8 This Golden Girl earned a long list of awards.

Betty White was a gifted actor who has the "goods" to back it up. She won an Emmy for hosting a game show eight times and was the first woman to do so.
She also earned three American Comedy Awards, three Screen Actors Guild Awards, and a Grammy among her awards.
It's no wonder that she was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and inducted into the Television Hall of Fame in 1995.

#9 She opted not to have kids of her own to concentrate on her work.

Ludden's three children from his previous marriage were given to Betty White as stepchildren. The pair, however, never had children throughout their 18 years together.
The actress revealed that she consciously opted not to have children to focus on her profession. And, as the obsessive personality that she is, she worried that she wouldn't be able to balance the role of an actor and a mother.

#10 She was a well-known figure who served as a role model for her co-stars.

Some of Hollywood's brightest characters gathered to pay respect to her when she became ninety in 2012, including Mary Tyler Moore, Amy Poehler, Tina Fey, Carol Burnett, Ellen DeGeneres, Joel McHale, Hugh Jackman, and Ray Romano.
When asked for advice for aspiring young performers, White stated they should do their studies and learn to love their vocation since being in the entertainment industry is a pleasure.
Are you a Betty White lover as well? What do you believe her greatest contribution to Hollywood was?

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