Hollywood icon Betty White dies at 99

Betty White was as a pioneer of early television and had a career spanning over nine decades, working longer in that medium than anyone else in the television industry.

Actress, comedian and Hollywood icon Betty White has died at the age of 99.

White, who was set to turn 100 years old on Jan. 17, died in her home Friday morning, TMZ first reported. The Associated Press also confirmed the news Friday afternoon.

White, TV’s Golden Girl, was as a pioneer of early television and had a career spanning over nine decades, working longer in that medium than anyone else in the television industry.

She was best known as Sue Ann Nivens on the 1970s sitcom Mary Tyler Moore and for playing Rose Nylund on The Golden Girls in 1985.

White also had her own series, Life with Elizabeth, in 1952. She has been inducted into the Television Hall of Fame and was known for her tireless efforts on behalf of animals.

White was born in Oak Park, Ill. in 1922. Her family moved to Los Angeles during the Great Depression, where she attended Beverly Hills High School.

She started her entertainment career in radio in the late 1930s, and by 1939, she made her TV debut singing on an experimental channel in Los Angeles.

After serving in the American Women’s Voluntary Service during the Second World War, she was a regular on “Hollywood on Television,” a daily five-hour live variety show, in 1949.