Betty White Then and Now: See the Hollywood Icon Through the Years!

What a legend! Betty White was a part of Hollywood since 1945 when she made an appearance as “Lou’s Girl” in a short titled Time to Kill. But that was just the beginning of an illustrious career before her tragic death at age 99 in December 2021.

Born in 1922 to mom Christine Tess and dad Horace Logan White, Betty didn’t want to be in everyone’s living room from the get-go — she originally wanted to be a forest ranger, but women were not allowed to follow that career path at the time. Instead, Betty went the writing route, eventually writing and starring in her own play at Horace Mann School. As is typical once you’ve dipped your toe in, her interest in showbiz soon followed.

Since then, the Hollywood icon was nominated for four Golden Globes and has won five Primetime Emmy Awards, three Screen Actors Guild Awards and two Grammy Awards — just to name a few of the trophies she’s accumulated in her time. Betty also has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, has been inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame and has the longest television career of any female entertainer. That’s so much greatness over the years!

A friend of the beloved actress told Closer Weekly exclusively how she was doing a year before her death, ahead of her 98th birthday. “She still likes to drink, laugh and tell stories,” the insider said at the time. “It will be at her home with her longtime friends and stepchildren. She’s still close with them and their children. They’ll order food in and have fun.”

“She doesn’t have any major health problems,” the pal confided. “She says she’s a little ‘creaky.’ Walking is a bit of an issue and she uses a walker at home, but she’s OK. And she’s still quick with a one-liner.”

“She still gets job offers, but that part of her life is probably over,” the confidant revealed, adding that even though she was not working as much, Betty still insisted on living full-time in the Brentwood home in L.A. she once shared with her late husband, Allen Ludden. “Everyone wants her to retire to [her vacation property in Carmel, California], but Hollywood is in her blood. She likes to be close to the action, even at her age.”

Now scroll on down below to see Betty then and now!