Betty White
Betty White
Hot in Cleveland, Off Their Rockers, The Golden Girls
America's favorite comedy sweetheart, Betty White, is the host and executive producer of Betty White's Off Their Rockers, an outrageously funny "hidden camera" show in which a fearless band of senior citizens pull shockingly hilarious pranks on the younger generation.
Although she celebrated her 90th birthday in January 2012, it won't slow down comedy legend Betty, one of the funniest and busiest actresses in Hollywood. With a career that has spanned more than 60 years, the seven-time Emmy Award winner has created unforgettable roles in television and film, authored seven books and won numerous awards, including those for her lifelong work for animal welfare.
Her first comedy series, Life with Elizabeth, earned the Oak Park, Illinois native her first Emmy Award in 1952, followed by a daily NBC talk/variety show called The Betty White Show. She was a recurring regular with over 70 appearances on The Tonight Show with Jack Paar and appeared on The Merv Griffin Show and The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. She also subbed as host on all three talk shows. Betty was a regular with Vicki Lawrence on Mama's Family as sister Ellen, a role she first created with the rest of the company on The Carol Burnett Show.
Her recurring role as "Happy Homemaker" Sue Ann Nivens in the classic series The Mary Tyler Moore Show earned two Emmys for Best Supporting Actress in 1974-75 and 1975-76. She received her fourth Emmy for Best Daytime Game Show Host for Just Men. Nominated seven times for Best Actress in a Comedy Series for her role as Rose Nylund in The Golden Girls, she won the Emmy the first season in 1985, and she later appeared in the spin-off The Golden Palace for one season. She earned her next Emmy Award as Best Guest Actress in a Comedy Series on The John Larroquette Show.
Betty was nominated for an Emmy in 2011 for her portrayal of "Elka," the snarky but lovable caretaker on the TV Land series Hot in Cleveland, starring with Valerie Bertinelli, Jane Leeves and Wendie Malick. When she hosted NBC's Saturday Night Live in 2010, it was one of the highest-rated episodes in the show's history, and it earned her an Emmy Award for Guest Actress in a Comedy Series, bringing her Emmy total to seven awards.
In addition to charming sports fans with her role in the popular Snickers commercial shown during the 2010 Super Bowl, Betty has guest starred on Ally McBeal, That '70s Show, Boston Legal, NBC's Community and The Middle. She was also nominated for an Emmy as a guest actress on Suddenly Susan.
Her numerous television movies include Chance of a Lifetime, Stealing Christmas, Annie's Point and The Lost Valentine. She also hosted the New Year's Day Tournament of Roses Parade for 20 years and the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade for 10 years. Her big-screen credits include The Proposal, with Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds, as well as You Again, Bringing Down the House, The Story of Us, Lake Placid, and Hard Rain.
The most recent of her seven books include "If You Ask Me (And of Course You Won't)," released in May 2011, and "Betty & Friends: My Life at the Zoo," released in November 2011.
Betty's awards are numerous and include the Career Achievement Award in 2009 from the Television Critics Association, a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Jane Goodall Institute in 2009, the Screen Actors Guild Lifetime Achievement Award in 2010 and a Lifetime Achievement Award in Acting in 2010 from the American Women in Radio and Television. In 2011, she received her first Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female in a Comedy Series for her role in Hot in Cleveland. She was voted AP Entertainer of the Year in 2010 and was given the Lifetime Achievement Award in addition to being inducted into the Broadcasting and Cable Hall of Fame in 2011.
A passionate supporter of animal welfare, Betty was recently named Chairman of the Greater Los Angeles Zoo Association; she has served on the board since 1974 and as a Zoo Commissioner for eight years. In 2006, she was honored by the City of Los Angeles at the Los Angeles Zoo as "Ambassador to the Animals" for her lifelong work for animal welfare.
On November 9, 2010, the USDA Forest Service, along with Smokey Bear, made Betty an honorary forest ranger, fulfilling her lifelong dream. She said in previous interviews that she wanted to be a forest ranger as a little girl but that women were not allowed to do that then. Today's United States Forest Service is 38 percent female, including rangers, scientists and leaders at every level.
Betty was married for 18 years to Allen Ludden, host of the game show Password, until his death in 1981. She lives in Brentwood, California with her golden retriever, Pontiac.
Betty White at the Internet Movie Database