Betty White would have turned 100 on January 17 and in honour of the occasion White’s assistant, Kierstan Mikelas, shared a photo of the iconic actress taken two weeks before she sadly passed away.
Mikelas shared the photo, taken on December 20, 2021, on Betty White’s Facebook page of the actress smiling in celebration of what would have been a milestone birthday for the late actress.
“Hello Everyone! It’s Kiersten. Betty’s Assistant. On this special day, I wanted to share this photo of Betty. It was taken on 12/20/21. I believe it’s one of the last photos of her. She was radiant and beautiful and as happy as ever. Thanks to all of you who are doing kind things today and every day to make the world a better place,” she wrote.
It was recently revealed the actress suffered a stroke six days before her death on New Year’s Eve, according to her death certificate. In a previously released statement to People Magazine, White’s agent and close friend, Jeff Witjas said the actress, “died peacefully in her sleep at her home”.
“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,” the statement said.
Before her passing, White took to Instagram to share her anticipation for her upcoming 100th birthday, ” My 100th birthday… I cannot believe it is coming up, and People Magazine is celebrating with me! The new issue of @people is available on newsstands nationwide tomorrow”.
Betty Marion White was born on January 17, 1922, in Oak Park, Illinois. White’s family moved to Los Angeles during the Great Depression, where she attended Beverly Hills High School.
White started her entertainment career in radio in the late 1930s and by 1939 had made her TV debut singing on an experimental channel in Los Angeles.
Best known for her portrayal of Sue Ann Nivens in The Mary Tyler Moore Show, and Rose Nyland in the 1980s hit sitcom The Golden Girls, White was an award winner and a star who pushed the norms of Hollywood.