Beloved television actor and household name Betty White entertained from the small screen for over eight decades, first as the star of "Life With Elizabeth" in 1952 before playing Sue Ann Nivens in "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" and Rose Nylund in "Golden Girls."
Her popularity endured well into her golden years, thanks to, in part, a 2010 Snickers commercial that showcased her saucy charm.
Born on Jan. 17, 1922, White had once said she stopped lying about her age in youth-obsessed Hollywood because she didn't "want to have to do the math." She was married three times, with her third marriage to fellow actor and game show host Allen Ludden from 1963 until his death in 1981.
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ABC Photo Archives via Getty Images
Betty White smiles in a 1958 promotional photo. White, a beloved actor whose small screen career spanned well over eight decades, died 17 days before her 100th birthday.
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Herb Ball/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank
Betty White holds her dog Bandy at their home in this 1954 snap. White is a well known animal lover, having based much of her free time fundraising for animal causes and declining roles that features animal cruelty.
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ABC Photo Archives via Getty Images
Betty White jokes around in a May 5, 1957, promotional photoshoot for ABC’s “Date with the Angels.” Her quirky and saucy personality endeared her to the American public early into her career.
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ABC Photo Archives via Getty Images
Actor Betty White visits with the Los Angeles Angels as part of a promotion for ABC’s “Date with the Angels,” July 2, 1957, in which she starred alongside Bill Williams.
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NBCU Photo Bank
Betty White smiles with her husband, game show host and actor Allen Ludden, in a 1960 photo. The pair were married from 1963 until Ludden’s death to cancer in 1981.
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ABC Photo Archives via Getty Images
Betty White smiles with her husband, game show host and actor Allen Ludden, in their home on Valentine’s Day, Feb. 14, 1972. The pair were married from 1963 until Ludden’s death to cancer in 1981.
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Bob Wands/AP
Betty White and her husband Allen Ludden continue a two-year gin rummy battle in which she’s ahead by a cumulative 6,000 points, Westchester, New York, April 29, 1965. They do it professionally on TV. He’s the master of ceremonies on “Password,” and she makes frequent guest appearances on game shows. The couple plays games to relax at home.
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Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images
From left: Edward Asner, Betty White, Mary Tyler Moore and Ted Knight hold their Emmy Awards at the 28th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards on May 17, 1976, Los Angeles, California. The four played Lou Grant, Sue Ann Nivens, Mary Richards and Ted Baxter for “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” respectively.
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Paul Drinkwater/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank
Actor Betty White on the Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, with then guest-host David Letterman, March 26, 1979.
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Getty Images
Betty White walks towards the grave of her late husband Allen Ludden, in the company of Ludden’s mother. The 63-year-old died of cancer in Los Angeles on Tuesday and was buried in Mineral Point, Wisconsin – the town where he was born.
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NBCU Photo Bank
From left: Betty White as Ellen Harper Jackson, Vicki Lawrence as Thelma “Mama” Crowley Harper, and Rue McClanahan as Aunt Fran Crowley for “Mama’s Family,” July 1983.
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Herb Ball/NBCU Photo Bank
From left: Bea Arthur, Rue McClanahan, Estelle Getty and Betty White pose for a promotional poster for the first season of “Golden Girls,” April 22, 1985. The four would play the iconic quartet Dorothy Petrillo Zbornak, Blanche Devereaux, Sophia Petrillo and Rose Nylund from 1985 until the series’ end in 1992.
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Chris Polk/FilmMagic
Betty White, Bea Arthur and Rue McClanahan during the The 6th Annual “TV Land Awards” in Santa Monica, California, June 8, 2008.
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Kevin Winter/Getty Images
Actors Betty White and Mary Tyler Moore present Tina Fey the Outstanding Comedy Series award for “30 Rock” onstage during the 60th Primetime Emmy Awards held at Nokia Theatre on Sept. 21, 2008 in Los Angeles, California.
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Lawrence K. Ho/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
Betty White seen in a May 31, 2009, photo. She still keeps an active career at 87, with her latest project playing an aging, truth telling, offthewall grandmother for “The Proposal.”
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Kevin Winter/Getty Images
Sandra Bullock and Betty White goof off onstage during the 2010 Teen Choice Awards at Gibson Amphitheatre on Aug. 8, 2010 in Universal City, California.
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Paul Drinkwater/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank
Ryan Reynolds and Betty White appear as guests on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Sept. 22, 2010. The two actors, known for their off-beat, saucy personalities on and off the screen, amused themselves by referring to each other as “a past relationship” for the benefits of celebrity entertainment.
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Kevin Winter/Getty Images
Betty White arrives at the premiere of Touchstone Pictures’ “You Again,” Sept. 22, 2010 in Los Angeles, California. She remained a “national treasure” for her roles in “Golden Girls” and her off-beat, quirky personality with fans of all ages.
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Paul Morigi/WireImage
Thomas Tidwell, left, and Hank Kashdan of the U.S. Forest Service pose for a photo with Betty White who was named an honorary Forest Ranger at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Nov. 9, 2010 in Washington, D.C.
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Gregg DeGuire/FilmMagic
Betty White arrives at “Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax” Los Angeles Premiere at Universal Studios Hollywood on Feb. 19, 2012, in Universal City, California. She plays Grammy Norma on the animated film at the age of 90.
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Mike Coppola/Getty Images for Anderson Live
Betty White, next to Lisa Vanderpump and Anderson Cooper, looks on as a man jumps out of a birthday cake at CBS Studios, Jan. 8, 2013 ,in New York City.
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Christopher Polk/Getty Images for The People's Choice Awards
Betty White accepts the award for Favorite TV Icon during The 41st Annual People’s Choice Awards at Nokia Theatre LA Live on Jan. 7, 2015, in Los Angeles, California.
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Allen Berezovsky/WireImage
Betty White accepts Daytime Emmy Lifetime Achievement Award onstage during the 42nd Annual Daytime Emmy Awards at Warner Bros. Studios on April 26, 2015 in Burbank, California.
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Raymond Boyd/Getty Images
Betty White’s star along the Hollywood Stars Walk of Fame in Hollywood, California, seen on Sept. 10, 2017.
