According to Betty White:
The star’s secrets for a long life are a lot more fun than you’d expect.
BY SARAH CROW
Betty Marion White Ludden (born January 17, 1922) is an American actress and comedian.[1][2] A pioneer of early television, White was one of the first women to exert control in front of and behind the camera,[3] and the first woman to produce a sitcom (Life with Elizabeth),[4] which contributed to her being named honorary Mayor of Hollywood in 1955.[5] She is also widely known for her roles as Sue Ann Nivens on the CBS sitcom The Mary Tyler Moore Show (1973–1977), Rose Nylund on the NBC sitcom The Golden Girls (1985–1992), and Elka Ostrovsky on the TV Land sitcom Hot in Cleveland (2010–2015).
With an entertainment career spanning over nine decades, White was eight years old when she made her radio programming debut in 1930. Several years later in young adulthood she began working as a radio personality in Los Angeles under the guidance of disk jockey Al Jarvis. After making the transition to television, White became a staple panelist of American game shows, including Password, Match Game, Tattletales, To Tell the Truth, The Hollywood Squares and The $25,000 Pyramid; dubbed “the first lady of game shows”, White became the first woman to receive the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Game Show Host for the show Just Men! in 1983.[6] She is also known for her appearances on The Bold and the Beautiful, Boston Legal, The Carol Burnett Show, and Saturday Night Live.
With a television career spanning over eight decades.
White has worked longer in that medium than anyone else in the television industry, earning her a Guinness World Record in 2018.[7][8][9] White has received eight Emmy Awards in various categories, three American Comedy Awards, three Screen Actors Guild Awards, and a Grammy Award.[10]
She has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and is a 1985 Television Hall of Fame inductee. Betty White has had a career—and life—that’s enviable by any measure of success. Playing lead roles in beloved programs like The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Golden Girls, and Hot in Cleveland, the star is now 99 years old and just as witty, charming, and in-demand as ever—no small feat in a business where countless would-be stars fizzle out fast.
So, what’s kept White going all these years?
Read on to discover the star’s secrets for making it to nearly 100.
And for more on how your favorite stars stay healthy, Check out:
Walking This Far Every Morning Helped a Famous Athlete Drop 90 Pounds.
White may be bubbly, but that doesn’t mean she lives a vice-free life—
in fact, she revealed to Parade that vodka is one of the essential ingredients
to a good life, in her mind.
And in an interview with David Letterman, White admitted that her free time
is mostly spent playing with animals, adding, “Vodka’s kind of a hobby.”
Your doctor may have told you to stay away from processed meats
if you want to live a longer life, but White begs to differ.
The star revealed to Parade that after vodka, hot dogs are her next-greatest love. In an interview with Harper’s Bazaar, White explained that she’s not keen on restrictive diets.
“I don’t eat anything special. French fries. Hot dogs if I can get ’em. And I’m not a big breakfast eater. I’ll have a sandwich at lunch and then come home, and Pontiac and I have vodka on the rocks and then our dinner.
You can’t get much better,” she told the magazine.
Above all, she considers herself lucky.
White says it’s not talent or dedication alone that’s gotten her to this point in her life—she happens to have excellent luck, too. “I’m the luckiest old woman on the planet because I’m blessed with good health and energy,” she told Bazaar. “I don’t have any secrets for staying sprightly, but people
just keep coming to me with great projects and I can’t say no.”
For more ways to extend your lifespan, check out these:
20 Foods You Should Be Eating Every Day for a Longer Life.
In an interview with Parade,
White admitted that having a rosy outlook on life had served her well—so much so that she wondered if it might have had a hand in her longevity. “Enjoy life,” she told the publication. “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.”
Betty White Shares the Secret to Her Vibrant Life (msn.com)
If you want to improve your own affect, check out the
15 Healthiest Foods That Will Make You Happier, According to RDs.
Her biggest lesson learned? “Don’t take yourself too seriously.”
“I am blessed with good health,” she recently told People,
“So, turning 100 is no different than turning 99.”
White plans to keep things low-key due to the coronavirus pandemic, and
will be working on her upcoming show The Pet Set, she told Entertainment Tonight. Once it’s safe to do so again, she is looking forward to “visiting with close friends and bringing food to my animal friends.”
Even on a milestone birthday, age is nothing but a number for White.
“I never thought about age much,” she told AARP in 2011. “I learned that at
my mother’s knee. Age was not important. It was where your head was.”
At 99, here’s everything she has shared about staying young at heart.
She keeps moving.
When asked what she credits her good health to, White said genetics may
have something to do with it. “My dad
died when he was 83 and my mom died at 85,” she told Parade.
“They were active right up until the very end.”
But she’s also found creative ways to stay active over the years.
“I have a two-story house and a bad memory, so I’m up and down
those stairs all the time,” she told Parade. “That’s my exercise.”
She treats herself.
White has not been putting up with salads for decades. In fact, she once suggested on The Late Show with David Letterman, that it’s best to “take some wheatgrass, soy paste, and carob, toss in the garbage and cook yourself a big-a** piece of pork,” she joked. Bottom line: White always remembers to treat herself in life. The comedian told Parade that her favorite foods are vodka and hot dogs, “probably in that order.”
She stays busy.
White credits her fulfilling life to “having a good agent who keeps me busy all the time,” she recently told People. She also says it’s important to pursue your passions. “Don’t focus everything on you—that wears out pretty fast,” White said in a 2017 interview with Katie Couric. “It’s not hard to find things you’re interested in, but enjoy them, and indulge them and, I think that keeps you on your toes.”
Her sense of humor keeps her going.
White’s number one tip for a healthy life has nothing to do with diet or exercise. Her biggest lesson learned? Have a sense of humor. “Don’t take yourself too seriously,” she told People. “You can lie to others—not that
I would—but you cannot lie to yourself.”
She told Parade last year that optimism is worth it. “I know it sounds corny, but I try to see the funny side and the upside, not the downside,” she said.
“I get bored with people who complain about this or that. It’s such a waste of time.”
“Enjoy life,” she added. “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.”
All of the Best Life Advice Betty White Has Ever Given,
She turns 100 in January, so she’s doing something right!
When you think of Betty White, it’s almost impossible for a smile not to cross your face.
Few women in Hollywood have enjoyed a career that spans over seven decades, while consistently charming the pants off households across America. Her roles are iconic (Rose forever!), her comedic timing remains impeccable, and, best of all, the life experiences she continues to share with us all are marked by a relatable wisdom few celebrities can offer.
How will Betty be celebrating her 100th birthday?
She recently told Entertainment Tonight: “What am I doing for my birthday?
Running a mile each morning has been curtailed by COVID, so I am working on getting The Pet Set re-released, and feeding the two ducks who come to visit me every day.”
Her secret to a long, healthy life
“Enjoy life,” she recently told Parade. “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.” Her other piece of advice? Eat hot dogs and drink vodka, “probably in that order.”
“IT’S NOT HARD TO FIND GREAT STUFF IF YOU LOOK.”
Her biggest regret:
White was married to game show host Allen Ludden for 18 years. They met when White was a contestant on the TV game show Password. The two fell in love, but White refused his proposal twice. They were eventually married in 1963. “I spent a whole year, wasted a whole year that Allen and I could have had together, saying, ‘No, I wouldn’t marry him,'” she told Oprah on an episode of Where Are They Now. “No, I won’t leave California. No, I won’t move to New York. I wasted a whole year we could have had together, but we made it. We finally did.” Ludden passed away in 1981 from stomach cancer.
Betty White and Allen Ludden
What advice she would give to widows:
In an interview with Katie Couric to ring in her 95th birthday, White shared her advice for dealing with the death of a spouse. “One day at a time,” she said. “You don’t look ahead and you try not to look back.”
Exclusive: Betty White on her 95th birthday.
The Sweet Reason Betty White Never Remarried.
Finding meaning later in life.
“First of all, keep busy,” she told Couric in the same interview.
“And don’t focus everything on you, that wears out pretty fast. It’s not hard to find things you’re interested in, but enjoy them and indulge them, and I think that can keep you on your toes.”
Make yourself useful.
“People take a very dim view of aging, not just in show business, but in
almost every business,” White said in a 2014 interview with Harper’s Bazaar.
“They’re always looking for the young people coming up, which I understand. But make yourself as useful as possible so that they’ll find a place for you too! And don’t complain—try to accentuate the positive rather than the negative.
If you’re complaining, you’re not fun to be around, and fun is the name of the game.”
“DON’T COMPLAIN—TRY TO ACCENTUATE THE POSITIVE RATHER THAN THE NEGATIVE.”
Keeping her mind sharp
“Crossword puzzles!” she told Couric.
“I’m addicted. An admitted addict. I just can’t put ’em down.”
How she hopes to be remembered:
“Warmly,” she told Parade. “I hope they remember something funny.
I hope they remember laughing.”
Betty White At Almost 100 Years Old: Will She Ever Retire?
Betty White’s Lifestyle ★ 2021 – Bing video