Legendary actress Betty White has sadly passed away aged 99.
The Golden Girls star - whose career spanned over eight decades - died at home less than three weeks before her 100th birthday.
Her agent and close friend Jeff Witjas told People magazine: "Even though Betty was about to be 100, I thought she would live forever.
"I will miss her terribly and so will the animal world that she loved so much. I don't think Betty ever feared passing because she always wanted to be with her most beloved husband Allen Ludden. She believed she would be with him again."
White had Emmy-winning roles on television sitcoms The Golden Girls and The Mary Tyler Moore Show. She was still starring in a TV sitcom, Hot in Cleveland, at age 92 until it was canceled in late 2014.
White, who was born in Oak Park, Illinois, in 1922, started her entertainment career in radio in the late 1930s. She made her TV debut singing on an experimental channel in Los Angeles in 1939.
Through the 1960s and early '70s White was seen regularly on television, hosting coverage of the annual Tournament of Rose Parade and appearing on game shows such as Match Game and Password.
She married Password host Allen Ludden, her third and final husband, in 1963.
White reached new levels of fame on The Mary Tyler Moore Show, playing the host of a home-making television show Sue Ann Nivens.
White won best-supporting actress Emmys for the role in 1975 and 1976. She won another Emmy in 1986 for The Golden Girls.
White also was nominated for an Emmy six other times for her portrayal of the widowed Rose Nylund, which ran from 1985 to 1992 and was one of the top-rated series of its time.
Her death comes just days after she spoke about the secret to her long and healthy life, joking that one of her tips is to "avoid anything green" in her diet.
White reflected on her longevity and health in an interview with People, revealing that she feels "so lucky to be in such good health and feel so good at this age".
According to White, one of her secrets pertains to her diet, with the actor telling the outlet: "I try to avoid anything green. I think it’s working."
This is not the first time White has shared insight into her eating habits, as she previously told Parade Magazine that she loves vodka and hot dogs, "probably in that order".
"Accentuate the positive, not the negative. It sounds so trite, but a lot of people will pick out something to complain about, rather than say, 'Hey, that was great!' It's not hard to find great stuff if you look," she said at the time.
White, who had been acting since high school, also credited being "born a cockeyed optimist" for her ability to "always find the positive".
"I got it from my mom, and that never changed. I always find the positive," she revealed.
White had been in the public eye for a large part of the last 10 decades, however, recently she enjoyed a "quiet life" at home in Los Angeles.
