Disney Legend Betty White Shares Centenarian Secrets: “Taste Every Moment.”
With her 100th birthday fast approaching, Disney Legend Betty White shared a few of her secrects to living a long (and hilarious) life recently with People magazine ahead of the publications January 10th issue. White features as the cover story just ahead of her January 17th milestone. The issue hits shelves tomorrow!
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. https://t.co/kTQnsbMDGK
— Betty White (@BettyMWhite) December 28, 2021
In her characteristically witty and quick way, the “Golden Girls” actress and comedian’s comments centered around health in a way few would expect.
“I try to avoid anything green. … I guess it’s working,” White quipped in the interview, according to an article published by Today. Bucking the Hollywood trends over the years, White also commented that she still enjoys hot dogs and her signature drink, a vodka on ice with a splash of grapefruit.
In the Today article, her long-time executive person assistant Kiersten Mikelas also mentioned that White still enjoys a snack that her mother made for her when she was a child: “a peanut butter, bologna and iceberg lettuce sandwich on white bread.” Mikelas also shares a funny story about the possibility of White reaching out to an ex-boyfriend as well as remarkably sweet details about White’s ongoing dedication to her late husband Allen Ludden who passed away in 1981.
The six-time Emmy Award winner suggested that people “taste every moment” in the interview, emphasizing the need for joy and laughter in one’s life. White still spends time playing games as well as watching television shows like “Jeopardy” and animal documentaries, according to the article. In fact, she plans to spend her birthday surrounded by “as many animals as possible,” according to the Today article.
Animal welfare has long been a passion for White. In fact, she received the “Ambassador to the Animals” award from the City of Los Angeles due to her “lifelong work for animal welfare,” according to D23. She also serves at the Chairman of the Greater Los Angeles Zoo Association.
Stars Rejoice in White’s Centenarian Milestone
A number of stars celebrate White’s comedic genius and genuine greatness in the upcoming People issue. Former co-stars Ryan Reynolds and Sandra Bullock share their admiration for White as well as another legend in comedy, Carol Burnett.
“Betty had this reputation before she got on ‘The Mary Tyler Moore Show’ of being cutesy-sweetsy, and then she went on Johnny Carson’s show and totally slayed … She was very bawdy and very funny. She’d come on my show, and if there was a tinge of risqué humor in one of our sketches, she’d roll with it and make it even funnier and add a little wink to show that she was thinking of something sexy. She’s not a stand-up. She’s not a jokester. It’s the way she can twist a line to get a laugh,” Burnett recalls for the People cover story.
The legendary actress’ career skyrocketed after her role on “Life with Elizabeth” in the early 1950s. She continued her meteoric rise in “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” and then as the beloved Rose Nylund on ABC’s “The Golden Girls.”
White’s Birthday Celebration in Theatres
White’s birthday will be celebrated in theatres with a film released by Fathom Events only on January 17th titled, “Betty White: 100 Years Young – a Birthday Celebration.” Special guests include Lin-Manuel Miranda, Tina Fey, Jay Leno, James Cordon, Jimmie Kimmel, Clint Eastwood, Morgan Freeman, and of course, Burnett and Reynolds.
Feature Image Credit: AMANDA EDWARDS/WIREIMAGE.