Look Back at Betty White's Iconic Life In Photos

At this point, Betty White is basically a national treasure. The actress and comedian has a show business career that spans over 80 years, with iconic roles in shows like The Mary Tyler Moore Show and The Golden Girls. White is known for her cheeky sense of humor, which has helped her become the beloved star she is today. Here, we take a look at everything that White has accomplished since her game-show days back in the 70s.

White's career really began after World War II, when some radio jobs and television stints led to her hosting Hollywood on Television with Al Jarvis in 1952. She once told Cleveland Magazine, "Al was a great one to work with. He'd throw something at me, and I'd try to be there to bat it back. It was like going to television college. You don't get that kind of experience today."

Here, White is seen posing next to her beloved dog, Stormy. The actress has been a life-long advocate for animals, spending much of her free time volunteering at various animal organizations.

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When Jarvis left the show, White helped turn it into Life with Elizabeth, which she produced and starred in. It was rare for a female to produce a show, but it did earn her her very first Emmy nomination.

Here, White is pictured on set in a chair with her name on it. When Life with Elizabeth ended, White then played Vicki Angel on the ABC sitcom Date with the Angels. White later said, "I can honestly say that was the only time I have ever wanted to get out of a show."

White swings a golf club while on location for Date with the Angels in Los Angeles, California. The sitcom only lasted for 33 episodes, ending in 1958. In total, she has acted as a lead or recurring character on roughly 25 different television series. This, of course, is not counting the numerous programs where she served as host.

In 1961, White met television host and personality, Allen Ludden, pictured here, when she was a celebrity guest on the show Password. In 1963, the couple got married, and she changed her name to Betty White Ludden.

In the early 1960s, White spent a lot of time on network game shows, making appearances on Password several times, as well as What's My Line?, To Tell The Truth, I've Got A Secret, Match Game, and Pyramid.

Throughout most of the 1950s and 1960s, White was the hostess and commentator on the annual Tournament of Roses Parade, usually co-hosting with Lorne Greene.

White and her husband, Allen Ludden, enjoy the 18th annual Emmy Awards in Hollywood, California. Throughout her lengthy career, she has received 21 Emmy nominations, winning the gold five times.

White once admitted the one regret she has about her marriage during an interview with Oprah Winfrey, saying, "I spent a whole year, wasted a whole year that Allen and I could have had together, saying, 'No, I wouldn't marry him. No, I won't. No, I won't leave California. No, I won't move to New York.' I wasted a whole year we could have had together."

In 1968, White and Greene co-hosted the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City. White once told Parade her best tip is, "Enjoy life. Accentuate the positive, not the negative. It sounds so trite, but a lot of people will pick out something to complain about, rather than say, ‘Hey, that was great!’ It’s not hard to find great stuff if you look."

In 1973, White appeared on The Mary Tyler Moore Show several times as a guest star — here, she's pictured in the episode "The Lars Affair." White had a regular recurring role as Sue Ann Nivens. She has said that Sue Ann is one of the roles she's proudest of.

In 1974, White and Ludden appeared together at an International Broadcasting Awards dinner paying tribute to Moore. In 1981, Ludden would pass away after a battle with stomach cancer. White never remarried, and once said, "Once you've had the best, who needs the rest?"

White continued to appear on The Mary Tyler Moore Show as Sue Ann through 1975, resulting in a great friendship with Moore. When Moore passed away, White said, "“Mary Tyler Moore, Grant Tinker, Allen Ludden and I had some of the best times of my life together. She was special."

White's portrayal of Sue Ann in The Mary Tyler Moore Show led to her winning two Emmy Awards for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series.

In the late 1970s, White appeared on The Carol Burnett Show several times. She later said, "When Carol called me and said would I do her show, I said, 'well, are you sure?' Then she sent me the script and that sort of thing. And I thanked her profusely and hung up, I thought, 'I'm gonna do The Carol Burnett Show!!'"

White also did a lot of guest appearances on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, where she had many memorable skits, including the time the two dressed as Adam and Eve.

In 1983, White was the star of the NBC game show, Just Men!. That year, she became the first woman to win a Daytime Emmy Award in the category of Outstanding Game Show Host. She was once known as the 'First Lady of Game Shows.'

For about a year, White had a recurring role on the series Mama's Family along with her future Golden Girls co-star Rue McClanahan. White played Ellen Harper Jackson, who basically originated from her character on The Carol Burnett Show.

1985 began the biggest role of White's entire career: she started playing Rose Nylund on The Golden Girls, which also starred Bea Arthur, Estelle Getty, and McClanahan. White was originally offered the role of Blanche and McClanahan was offered the role of Rose.

Here, White is pictured with Joan Rivers, who was a guest host on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. The two went on to have a friendship and would later star in Hot In Cleveland together.

In 1986, White won the Emmy for Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series for her role on The Golden Girls. During the rest of the show's run, she was nominated in that category every year.

The Golden Girls continued to be extremely successful, partly because it put older women in a new perspective. When speaking about the show in a later interview, White said, "I think we were just trying to tell it like it is. I think older women still have a full life. Maybe the writers don't address it these days, but it doesn't change the fact."

White is a huge animal lover, and once told the Guinness Book of World Records that two of her favorite roles were, "The Pet Set and Golden Girls, just to name a few. Especially the former, as I wrote and produced it and could have on any animals I wanted." She also said if she wasn't an actress, she would have been a zookeeper.

Although the cast of Golden Girls were great friends on the show, things were a little different behind the scenes — Bea Arthur and White didn't seem to get along very well. White once said of Arthur, "She was not that fond of me. She found me a pain in the neck sometimes. It was my positive attitude — and that made Bea mad sometimes. Sometimes if I was happy, she'd be furious!"

White is pictured at the 5th Annual American Comedy Awards with Jayne Meadows and Macaulay Culkin in a seriously photogenic moment.

In 1992, The Golden Girls ended when Arthur announced that she wanted to leave the show. White, McClanahan, and Getty did a spin-off called The Golden Palace, but that only lasted one season.

For about a year, White starred in the ABC sitcom Maybe This Time alongside Marie Osmond and Ashley Johnson.

Throughout the '90s and early 2000s, White appeared on several different shows. In 2000, she won an American Comedy Award for Funniest Female Guest Appearance in a TV series for her appearance on Ally McBeal.

In 2005, Actors and Others for Animals honored White, a lifelong animal lover, at their Celebration of Caring. White was given the first "Betty White Inspirational Award," which honors people who have inspired public awareness and appreciation of animals and their need for protection and care.

In late 2006, White joined the cast of the soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful as Ann Douglas. Her recurring role lasted for 22 appearances.

In 2008, White, Arthur, and McClanahan reunited on stage to accept the Pop Culture Award during the TV Land Awards show. McClanahan passed away about two years later, and White said, "Rue was a close and dear friend. I treasure our relationship. It hurts more than I ever thought it would, if that’s even possible."

In 2009, White starred in the hit movie The Proposal, alongside Ryan Reynolds and Sandra Bullock. The rom-com is White's largest live-action venture on the big screen, raking in over $300 million at the box office.

In 2010, White went viral with her commercial for Snickers candy bars. The commercial aired during the 2010 Super Bowl XLIV, and White appeared alongside Abe Vigoda. In an interview on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, White expressed her shock at how popular the commercial was, saying, "The strange part is it's now showing all over the world. I don't know about a commercial doing that. We're in Africa, we're in Central Europe... and a lot of the countries we're in don't have football!"

The Snickers commercial was so popular that it led to a Facebook campaign called "Betty White to Host SNL (Please)" where fans begged the show to have White as a host. A few months later it was announced that White would take it on, becoming the oldest person to host Saturday Night Live at age 88. White told DeGeneres in an interview that she had always turned down the hosting role because it was "scary." She said she was, "scared to death" to do the show. It ended up getting her an Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series.

In 2010, White received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Screen Actors Guild Awards. During her acceptance speech, she said, "I should be presenting an award to you for the privilege of working in this wonderful business all this time. And you still can't get rid of me! I was only 88 last Sunday, so I've got lots more stuff to do."

In 2012, NBC celebrated White's 90th birthday with A Tribute to America's Golden Girl. The 90-minute special featured many stars from White's youth, including Ed Asner, Carol Burnett, and Mary Tyler Moore as they celebrated White's career.

From 2010 until 2014, White played the role of Elka Ostrovsky in TV Land's sitcom Hot in Cleveland. Originally, White had only agreed to do the pilot of the show, although she ended up staying. She once said, "I agreed to do a guest stint on a pilot. I said ‘yes’ provided it would be only a one-shot deal." She went on to be nominated for an Emmy award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for the part.

In 2015, White received the Favorite TV Icon honor at the People's Choice Awards. In her acceptance speech, she said, "Can you imagine? The People's Choice, at 93? Thank you with all my heart."

In 2018, White spoke onstage at the 70th Emmy Awards, and at 96 years old, it doesn't seem like she'll be going anywhere anytime soon. During an interview with Joy Behar, she said, " I am the luckiest old broad on two feet if the truth were known."

In August of 2019, the entertainer starred in a promo for the NFL's 100th season. In the ad, White refers to herself as "B-Dog," proclaiming, "there's only one thing more badass than this year's kickoff... and you're looking at her." Words spoken by a true icon.