--- description: Betty White has been a household name since the 1950s, but it was her work on The Golden Girls that cemented her status as an icon. title: Betty White Has Died at 99. Here's How 'The Golden Girls' Transformed Her From Star to Legend image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9c5e4fbdf7203b67/698a211eb3fce3dfc90c8cc6/betty-white-obit-2.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [remembrance](/tag/remembrance/) ## remembrance Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Betty White Has Died at 99\. Here's How _The Golden Girls_ Transformed Her From Star to Legend by [Melissa Locker](/author/melissa-locker/) ## Melissa Locker Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Dec 31, 2021 8:03 PM CUT  Betty White in 1957. Betty White in 1957.ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment Content/Getty Images by [Melissa Locker](/author/melissa-locker/) ## Melissa Locker Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Dec 31, 2021 8:03 PM CUT [Betty White](https://time.com/5091069/betty-white-birthday-advice/ "undefined") has been a household name since the 1950s, but it was her work on [_The_ _Golden Girls_ ](https://time.com/4675205/betty-white-golden-girls-aids/ "undefined")that cemented her status as an icon long before she died on Dec. 31 at 99. “I thought she would live forever,” White’s agent Jeff Witjas told [_People_](https://people.com/tv/betty-white-the-golden-girls-and-hot-in-cleveland-star-dead-at-99/ "undefined") in a 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](https://time.com/3918591/rue-mcclanahan-dead-viral-golden-girls/ "undefined")‘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. Besides, as Rose admitted, it wasn’t her fault her cousins have been marrying each other for generations. A Beverly Hills High School graduate, White was as savvy in real life as Rose was seemingly dim-witted, and she enjoyed a decades-long career in Hollywood that continued to flourish when so many of her peers found the opportunities disappear when they reached a certain age. White[ started](http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/news/2013/9/q-and-a-betty-white-on-her-world-record-her-favorite-works-and-getting-started-on-tv-50966/ "undefined") her television career while just a teenager—dancing “the Merry Widow Waltz” on an [experimental TV show in 1939, ](https://time.com/wp-admin/post.php?post=5610084&action=edit "undefined")when the medium was still in its infancy—and never really stopped. In fact, she[ entered the Guinness World Record](http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/news/2013/9/q-and-a-betty-white-on-her-world-record-her-favorite-works-and-getting-started-on-tv-50966/ "undefined") book in 2014 as the holder for “longest TV career for an entertainer (female).”  Betty White, at the Tournament of Roses Parade on January 1, 1970. Courtesy Everett Collection As a young actress filled with ambition and tenacity, she landed a spot in a Parkay margarine commercial after reportedly hanging around the office of producer Fran Van Hartesveldt until he caved and [offered her a job.](http://mentalfloss.com/article/29760/listen-8-year-old-betty-white-play-crippled-orphan-1930 "undefined") She later spent six days a week on the Al Jarvis variety show _Hollywood on Television_. That led to her producing her own sitcom, which she also starred in, called _Life With Elizabeth_. It was a feat that was as rare then as it is now, and she[ earned](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0924508/awards?ref%5F=nm%5Fawd "undefined") 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 _The Betty White Show,_ starred in _The Mary Tyler Moore Show_ playing the man-crazy Happy Homemaker Sue Ann Nivens, and was a staple on game shows like _Password_ and _Match Game._ She also had a chance to work with her future _Golden Girls_ cohorts in the years before the iconic show’s debut, earning a few guest spots on _Maude_ with Bea Arthur, and starring alongside Rue McClanahan in _Mama’s Family_. White said one of the favorite shows she ever worked on was [_The_ _Pet Set_](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rw6tMVD87UQ "undefined"), which she wrote, produced and starred in. She[ reportedly](http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/news/2013/9/q-and-a-betty-white-on-her-world-record-her-favorite-works-and-getting-started-on-tv-50966/ "undefined") could feature any creatures she wanted on the show, a huge bonus for the lifelong animal lover and animal welfare advocate.  Betty White, center, on The Mary Tyler Moore Show in 1973. CBS/Getty Images A comedic pioneer, White would have been remembered as an actress who left an indelible impact on her field even without _The_ _Golden Girls_, but the beloved sitcom earned her new generations of fans who continued to revere White-as-Rose long after the show went off the air in 1992. The idea for the sitcom came about almost by accident. Executive producers Paul Junger Witt and Tony Thomas pitched a different show to executives at NBC, who replied that they were interested in a show about women of a certain age. (According to the show’s creators, that “certain age” was “[hovering around late 50](https://www.vulture.com/2017/03/the-golden-girls-creators-on-finding-new-fans.html "undefined"), 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.  From left, Estelle Getty as Sophia Petrillo, Bea Arthur as Dorothy Petrillo Zbornak, Rue McClanahan as Blanche Devereaux and Betty White as Rose Nylund on The Golden Girls. ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment Content/Getty Images In 2010, White[ told the _Associated Press_](https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/golden-girls-star-betty-white-vividly-recalled-her-great-loves-passing-while-filming-touching-scene-says-director "undefined") that everyone knew the show was going to be something special when they first 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 came in and auditioned to play the seductive homeowner, but the director soon had a stroke of brilliance. “When Betty came in, she read the part of Blanche, but \[director\] Jay Sandrich said, ‘Why have her do Blanche? She already played that character on _Mary Tyler Moore._ Why not have her be Rose?'” creator Susan Harris[ told _Vulture_](https://www.vulture.com/2017/03/the-golden-girls-creators-on-finding-new-fans.html "undefined") in 2017. White played the daft Rose brilliantly, and won her [third Primetime Emmy](https://www.emmys.com/bios/betty-white "undefined") in her very first season portraying the St. Olaf native. _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. When the show ended, White continued playing Rose on the spin-off series _The Golden Palace,_ which lasted only one season. White was in her early 70s when she said goodbye to Rose for good–but her career was far from finished. She joined the cast of _Bob_ opposite Bob Newhart in 1993\. She later turned what was supposed to be a guest spot on _Hot in Cleveland_ into a full-time gig when she was 88 years old. She also landed guest spots on _That 70s Show_, _Boston Legal_, and _Bones_, and had a memorable turn as “Gammy” in the 2009 rom-com [_The Proposal_](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z2lYA7L7PZY&ab%5Fchannel=MovieclipsClassicTrailers "undefined"). When _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 _Vulture_](https://www.vulture.com/2017/03/the-golden-girls-creators-on-finding-new-fans.html "undefined") in 2017. Few would disagree. With a knowing wink, White used her persona as the adorably gullible Rose in later years to shock audiences with unexpectedly bawdy humor. Like when she roasted William Shatner for a Comedy Central special and stunned the audience with[ her unexpectedly racy speech](http://www.cc.com/video-clips/rs5i2p/roast-of-william-shatner-betty-white---the-good-old-days "undefined"). Or when she [crassly endorsed](https://www.facebook.com/bettymwhite/videos/betty-whites-review-of-deadpool/1691801797768494/ "undefined") the _Deadpool_ movie, did[ vodka shots](https://youtu.be/3yAKZ18S1VU "undefined") with David Letterman, or [paid tribute](http://thesource.com/2016/07/13/who-you-calling-a-btch-watch-betty-whites-hilarious-reading-of-u-n-i-t-y/ "undefined") to hip hop legend Queen Latifah on VH1’s _Hip Hop Honors: All Hail the Queens_. She was so beloved that some determined fans launched a Facebook campaign to convince _Saturday Night Live_ to have White host an episode. The campaign garnered enough traction online that it eventually caught the attention of _SNL_ creator Lorne Michaels, who invited White, then 88, to[ host the show](http://entertainment.time.com/2010/05/10/the-morning-after-how-its-done/ "undefined") in May 2010. Despite spending decades in front of TV cameras, White[ claimed](https://ew.com/tv/2018/08/20/betty-white-snl-stage-fright-pbs-clip/ "undefined") she had to battle stage fright while hosting the iconic show. Even so, White won her fifth Primetime Emmy for the gig, and helped _SNL_ earn some of its highest ratings of the season. White was honored for her extraordinary career during the [70th Emmy Awards](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/emmys-winners-list-70th-primetime-emmy-awards-live-updates-2018-09-17/ "undefined") in September 2018, where she joked about how long she had been working 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! She was the first one way, way back.'” But White displayed her gratitude and awe at her long career when accepting her Guinness World Record. “I have no regrets at all,” she said in 2013\. “I consider myself to be the luckiest broad on two feet.”  Betty White in The Golden Girls, circa 1988. 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