In honor of Betty White‘s 95th birthday today, here are five fun facts about the beloved actress.
BETTY WHITE TURNS 95
The Golden Girls actress is considered a national treasure and is going strong at 95 years old. White has reported that her big day will consist of poker and a vodka tonic with her friends. So here are some fun facts to know about Betty White on her birthday.
- White currently holds the Guinness World Record of having the Longest TV Career for an Entertainer (Female), at 77 years in the business. Her next TV appearance will be on the 12th and final season of Fox drama Bones, in which she will reprise her role as forensic anthropologist Dr. Beth Mayer. White is of course most well-known for her role on the Golden Girls, which debuted when the actress was 63. She has also starred in three separate series called The Betty White Show – one a sitcom, one a variety show, and one a daytime talk show.White also guest starred on titles such as the Mary Tyler Moore Show, Bob, Save Me, Hot in Cleveland, Ugly Betty, The Bold and the Beautiful, The Carol Burnett Show, Maybe This Time, and even hosted the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade for a decade on NBC. Before she began acting though, White actually wanted to be an opera singer, and was trained by Felix Hughes, the uncle of aviator Howard Hughes.
- White is a huge animal lover. She has said this stems from her parents, who, in an ironic twist, would bring home strays and ask White if they could keep them. At one point during her childhood, White and her parents owned 26 dogs. “I’m the luckiest old broad on two feet, because my life is divided absolutely in half — half animals and half show business,” she has said. “You can’t ask for better than two things you love the most.” White even hosted a talk show for pets and their celebrity owners called The Pet Set.She has also worked with the Morris Animal Foundation for more than 50 years, and has helped raise more than $92 million for animal health research.
- “Animal lover that I am, a cougar I am not,” she revealed. “All my life, even as a kid, I have preferred men older than I am. Unfortunately, today I don’t think there is anyone older than I am!”White has been married three times, and joked that, “I married my first husband because we wanted to sleep together. [The marriage] lasted six months, and we were in bed for six months.” She stopped after her third husband and former Password host Al Ludden, who died in 1981 of stomach cancer. They met in 1961 on the game show. “Once you’ve had the best, who needs the rest?” she told Larry King. Despite her wish to never marry again, that doesn’t stop White from appreciating the opposite sex. “Let’s say I meet someone I find attractive. I have to keep reminding myself of how old I am, because I don’t feel like I’m that old,” she said. “I fight the urge to flirt and try to shape up. No fool like an old fool.”While White does not have any biological children, she helped raise Ludden’s two daughters and one son.
- White has won a Grammy and multiple Emmys during her career, with the Grammy coming at 90 years old. She won a 1983 Daytime Emmy for hosting the game show Just Men!, in which women predict answers to questions asked of male celebrities. She remains the only female to win an Emmy for best game show host. Another Emmy came from a guest star appearance on The Mary Tyler Moore Show. She even won an Emmy for playing herself as a guest star on The John Laroquette Show in a skit that spooked The Golden Girls.White can also be credited as one of TV’s first female producers, with her 1952 sitcom Life With Elizabeth.
- White is one of the most beloved celebrities in this country, as evidenced by a 2011 Reuters poll that revealed her to be the most trusted and favorite star. As such, in 2016 when many famed celebrities unfortunately passed away, a South Carolina man started a GoFundMe Campaign to raise money to keep White safe through the end of the year. By Jan. 1, 2017, Demetrios Hrysikos has raised $9,245, which he then donated to a local theater in his hometown.White was inducted into the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Hall of Fame in 1995 and into the California State Hall of Fame in 2010. She was also elected by fans as the Honorary Mayor of Hollywood in 1955.