Betty White is a Hollywood icon that has entertained at least four generations of viewers in her career.
White was born in Oak Park, Illinois in 1922. Her parents chose to name her Betty, not Elizabeth so she wouldn't be subject to any other nickname derived from the full name. Her mom was a homemaker and her dad was a lighting company executive. Her family moved to Los Angelos when she was 2.
Her career began in radio when, at the age of 8, she played an adopted orphan on the soap opera Empire Builders.
The Queen of Television is best known for her roles as Sue Ann Nivens on the Mary Tyler Moore Show (1970) and the ditzy Rose Nylund on The Golden Girls (1985), however, those are barely a drop in the bucket that is her career.
Retirement is not in my vocabulary. They aren't going to get rid of me that way.
Betty received her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1988.
Her first credited role was in 1945 as Lou's Girl in the short Time to Kill. She was on the show Life with Elizabeth from 1952-1955 and worked on and off until she landed the role as Sue Ann Nivens on the Mary Tyler Moore, which she credits as her big break into Hollywood. After that, she starred in The Betty White Show which ran just one season, but was nominated for a Primetime Emmy.
She was on other major network programs such as The Love Boat, Mama's Family, Who's The Boss, Matlock and many more through 1989 where her character of Rose Nylund was born on Empty Nest and moved not only to The Golden Girls, but later to The Golden Palace. After Golden Girls ended, Betty kept on acting. Really, if there's a show you've watched, at some point Betty's probably been in it. She's more connected than Kevin Bacon.
To honor the Queen of Television, here are a mere 10 scenes that you have to see to truly love all that is Betty White.