The Golden Girls actor Betty White passes away at 99

Emmy-winning TV actor Betty White, best known for starring in The Golden Girls, has passed away at the age of 99. White, who was set to celebrate her 100th birthday on January 17, is believed to have died on Thursday night at her home in Brentwood, California.

The actor's agent and close friend Jeff Witjas confirmed the news. "Even though Betty was about to be 100, I thought she would live forever," she said in a statement.

"I will miss her terribly and so will the animal world that she loved so much. 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," added Witjas, and said that White had not been ill and that the actor had been extremely careful during the pandemic. "She spent most of the past two years at the home she loved with her many pets. She had round-the-clock caretakers in her final years," said Witjas.

White, who played Sue-Ann Nivens on The Mary Tyler Moore Show in the 1970s and Rose on The Golden Girls from 1985-92, has been a TV regular for more than 60 years.

In the 80s, the actor starred in comedy films such as The Proposal, You Again, and Bringing Down the House. In 1999, an appearance in David E Kelley's monster crocodile movie Lake Placida renewed attention on White.

The actor also voiced herself on Ugly Betty, as well as in animated shows such as The Simpsons and Family Guy. The 2009 movie The Proposal, in which White starred alongside Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds, further added to her profile. In 2010 she became the oldest person ever to host Saturday Night Live.

In January 2012 the NBC special Betty White's 90th Birthday: A Tribute to America's Golden Girl was the most-watched program on the night. White hosted and produced the hidden-camera reality show Off Their Rockers in 2012-13, earning two more Emmy nominations.

Her most recent book, If You Ask Me (And of Course You Won't), was published in 2011. She won a Screen Actors Guild life achievement award in 2010.