TV The evolution of Betty White See photos of the beloved actress through the years to celebrate her life and career. By Madeline Boardman Madeline Boardman Madeline Boardman is a former digital features director at Entertainment Weekly. She left EW in 2017. EW's editorial guidelines and Jethro Nededog Jethro Nededog Jethro Nededog is the senior news editor at EW.Before that, he was the entertainment editor at Insider. He has also served as the TV Editor for TheWrap and Celebuzz, as well as reported on television for Business Insider, The Hollywood Reporter, and the Los Angeles Times.He is a former member of the Television Critics Association (TCA), currently a member of the Gay and Lesbian Entertainment Critics Association (GALECA), and served for several years as a judge for the Critics Award at the New York Television Festival.He has a BA in journalism from New York University, and an MA in fiction and screenwriting from the University of Southern California.Raised in San Diego, Jethro has lived in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Madrid. He currently resides in New York City. EW's editorial guidelines Updated on December 31, 2021 04:57PM EST Close 01 of 44 Betty White through the years NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images Betty White died Dec. 31, 2021, at 99. Born in Oak Park, Ill., on Jan. 17, 1922, White would've celebrated her 100th birthday in 2022. Pictured here in 1954, the beloved star got her start as a teenager, picking up early work through commercials and programs on the radio. White made her onscreen debut in the '40s and rose to fame on TV shows like Life With Elizabeth, Date With the Angels, The Jack Paar Tonight Show, To Tell the Truth, and The Betty White Show. In the decades since, the actress picked up Emmy awards for her work on The Mary Tyler Moore Show, The Golden Girls, The John Larroquette Show, and Saturday Night Live. See photos of White through the years, ahead. 02 of 44 Betty White in 1954 NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images 03 of 44 Betty White at her home with her dog, Stormy, on Feb. 3, 1954 Herb Ball/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank 04 of 44 Betty White in 1955 Hulton Archive/Getty Images 05 of 44 Betty White in 1955 Hulton Archive/Getty Images 06 of 44 Betty White at the Christmas Parade in Los Angeles in December 1955 Earl Leaf/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images 07 of 44 Betty White in 1956 Hulton Archive/Getty Images 08 of 44 Betty White at home on May 6, 1957 ABC Photo Archives/ABC via Getty Images 09 of 44 Betty White on Date With the Angels on June 7, 1957 ABC Photo Archives/ABC via Getty Images 10 of 44 Betty White on The Betty White Show on March 8, 1958 ABC Photo Archives/ABC via Getty Images 11 of 44 Betty White with her husband, Allen Ludden, in the 1960s NBCU Photo Bank 12 of 44 Betty White with Allen Ludden on May 8, 1963 CBS via Getty Images 13 of 44 Betty White with Allan Ludden on Password on Feb. 7, 1967 CBS via Getty Images 14 of 44 Betty White with Lorne Greene at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in 1967 NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images 15 of 44 Betty White in New York on Dec. 27, 1968 CBS via Getty Images 16 of 44 Betty White in 1970 NBC/NBCU Photo Bank 17 of 44 Betty White with Allen Ludden on Feb. 14, 1972 Photo by ABC Photo Archives/ABC via Getty Images 18 of 44 Betty White with Allen Ludden, Brett Somers, Charles Nelson Reilly, Dolly Read Martin, Richard Dawson, and Gene Rayburn on Match Game in 1973 Courtesy Everett Collection 19 of 44 Betty White on The Mary Tyler Moore Show in 1974 CBS Photo Archive/Getty Images 20 of 44 Betty White with Ted Knight, Georgia Engel, Gavin MacLeod, Mary Tyler Moore, and Ed Asner on The Mary Tyler Moore Show on Nov. 21, 1975 CBS Photo Archive/Getty Images 21 of 44 Betty White with Mary Tyler Moore on The Mary Tyler Moore Show in 1975 CBS Photo Archive/Getty Images 22 of 44 Betty White with Ed Asner, Mary Tyler Moore, and Ted Knight at the Emmy Awards in 1976 CBS via Getty Images 23 of 44 Betty White with Johnny Carson on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson on Feb. 8, 1979 Gene Arias/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank 24 of 44 Betty White with Rue McClanahan, Estelle Getty, and Bea Arthur on The Golden Girls on July 26, 1986 Gary Null/NBCU Photo Bank 25 of 44 Betty White at the 38th annual Primetime Emmy Awards on Sept. 21, 1986 Ron Galella/WireImage 26 of 44 Betty White on The Golden Girls in the late-1980s ABC Photo Archives/ABC via Getty Images 27 of 44 Betty White with her Golden Girls costars Bea Arthur, Rue McClanahan, and Estelle Getty in 1988 ABC Photo Archives/ABC via Getty Images 28 of 44 Betty White with Rue McClanahan on The Golden Girls in 1989 Theo Westenberger/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images 29 of 44 Betty White at the ABC All-Star Party for Summer TCA Press Tour on July 20, 1995 Ron Galella/WireImage 30 of 44 Betty White on Ladies Man in 1999 CBS via Getty Images 31 of 44 Betty White with Mary Tyler Moore and Cloris Leachman at the 2nd annual TV Land Awards in Hollywood on March 7, 2004 Kevin Winter/Getty Images 32 of 44 Betty White with Rue McClanahan and Bea Arthur at the DVD Release Party for The Golden Girls in Los Angeles on Nov. 18, 2004 Carlo Allegri/Getty Images 33 of 44 Betty White with James Spader on Boston Legal on Jan. 24, 2006 RON TOM/ABC Photo Archives 34 of 44 Betty White with Gavin MacLeod, Cloris Leachman, Mary Tyler Moore, Valerie Harper, and Ed Asner at the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences' Celebration for Betty White in Hollywood on Aug. 7, 2008 Kevin Winter/Getty Images 35 of 44 Betty White with Wendie Malick, Valerie Bertinelli, Jane Leeves on Hot in Cleveland in 2010 TV Land 36 of 44 Betty White on Saturday Night Live on May 4, 2010 Dana Edelson/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images 37 of 44 Betty White at the 18th annual Screen Actors Guild Awards in Los Angeles on Jan. 29, 2012 Kevin Winter/Getty Images 38 of 44 Betty White at the 41st annual People's Choice Awards in Los Angeles on Jan. 7, 2015 Chris Polk/Getty Images 39 of 44 Betty White with Valerie Bertinelli, Wendie Malick, and Jane Leeves celebrating her 93rd birthday on the set of Hot in Cleveland on Jan. 16, 2015 Mark Davis/Getty Images 40 of 44 Betty White on Bones on Oct. 22, 2015 Fox 41 of 44 Betty White at the SNL 40th Anniversary Celebration in New York City on Feb. 15, 2015 D Dipasupil/FilmMagic 42 of 44 Betty White at the media preview for the Greater Los Angeles Zoo Association's Beastly Ball Fundraiser at Los Angeles Zoo on June 11, 2015 Vincent Sandoval/WireImage 43 of 44 Betty White during the 70th annual Primetime Emmy Awards in 2018 Betty White during the 70th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards on Sept. 17, 2018. Paul Drinkwater/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images 44 of 44 Betty White turns 99 on Jan. 17, 2021: "I can stay up as late as I want" Betty White. Kelsey McNeal/Walt Disney Television via Getty Images