IT’S SAFE to say that the entire world is mourning the death of Betty White, the last Golden Girl standing.
And although she spent the majority of her life in front of TV and movie cameras, there are still a few things people don’t know about her.
Here are seven things we bet you didn’t know about the Hollywood icon:
Betty began her career hosting several radio shows before moving on to TV.
And although she found tremendous success as an actress, she originally wanted to be a writer.
That’s right, had she not had her first shot in 1951 to star in Hollywood on Television, she would have been writing. And she was probably going to be great at it too.
In 1951, when she took over Hollywood On Television, Betty became a producer.
She co-founded her own production company named after her dog, Bandy Productions.
At the time, she was considered one of the first female producers of Hollywood.
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Before marrying the love of her life, Allen Ludden, Betty had tied the knot twice before.
The actress was previously married to US Army pilot Dick Barker for one year in 1945.
In 1947, she married Hollywood agent Lane Allen and they were together for just two years.
“I had 18 wonderful years with Allen Ludden,” she said in an interview with Piers Morgan in 2012. “The first two were… rehearsals.”
She never had any kids, but she was a wonderful stepmom to Allen’s three kids.
When she auditioned for Golden Girls, producers originally offered her the role of Blanche.
She actually turned it down and asked to play Rose Nylund, which would become her most iconic character.
Ultimately, the role of Blanche went to who would become one of her closest friends Rue McClanahan.
Aside from being an actress and a producer, Betty is also a Guinness World Record holder.
In 2013, she became the female entertainer with the longest TV career, racking up 74 years of experience.
Aside from having one of the longest TV careers, Betty also became the oldest person to host Saturday Night Live.
She was 88 years old at the time.
She also went on to win the Creative Arts Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series for her spot in SNL.
Betty was a huge animal lover.
So much so that she turned down a part in the 1997 film As Good as it Gets because she objected to a scene in which a dog is thrown down a laundry chute.
You can do that kind of stuff when you’re Betty White.
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