- - How Did Betty White Die? Inside the “Golden Girls” Star's Final Days (and Her Touching Last Words)

Emily BlackwoodDecember 31, 2025 at 7:00 PM

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Betty White in 2009. -

Betty White died on Dec. 31, 2021

Her cause of death was later revealed to be a stroke, which she had suffered from six days before her death

The actress was 99 when she died, and only days away from becoming a centenarian

Betty White died an icon.

The Emmy-winning actress, comedian and producer was about to celebrate her 100th birthday when she died in her sleep on Dec. 31, 2021. Her agent and close friend, Jeff Witjas, echoed what many of her fans felt after learning about her passing: "Even though Betty was about to be 100, I thought she would live forever. I will miss her terribly."

According to her death certificate, White died from a cerebrovascular accident, which is more commonly known as a stroke. A source told PEOPLE that she had suffered "a mild stroke" six days before she died.

At the time of her death, the Golden Girls star had been gearing up for her 100th birthday on Jan. 17, and had opened up to PEOPLE just weeks earlier about how she felt about reaching that milestone age.

"I'm so lucky to be in such good health and feel so good at this age," White said in December 2021, later joking that her secret to longevity was to "avoid anything green."

So, how did Betty White die? Here's everything to know about the actress's death, including what her last words were.

How did Betty White die?

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Betty White in 2010.

White died of natural causes. Days after Witjas told PEOPLE that the actress "died peacefully in her sleep at her home" in the early morning hours of Dec. 31, 2021, her cause of death was revealed to be from a stroke she had suffered six days earlier.

Though Witjas said the actress was "under a doctor's care" during her final years, she was only "being careful with COVID." No other prior illnesses had been reported, and Witjas denied the rumors that White died from a COVID-19 booster shot, confirming that she had not received it days before she died as was being reported.

"People are saying her death was related to getting a booster shot three days earlier, but that is not true," her agent said in January 2022. "She died of natural causes. Her death should not be politicized — that is not the life she lived."

Where did Betty White die?

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Betty White in 2012.

The Hot in Cleveland actress died at her home in Brentwood, Calif., a neighborhood in Los Angeles. White lived there for over 50 years, and had purchased the five-bedroom, six-bathroom, 3,000-square-foot home in 1968 with her late husband, Allen Ludden.

"[She] was really simply spending each day at her home," Witjas told PEOPLE. "She didn't go out."

The house sold for $10.5 million in May 2022 and was demolished less than a year before the first anniversary of her death.

How old was Betty White when she died?

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Betty White in 'The Golden Girls.'

Born on Jan. 17, 1922, in Oak Park, Ill., White was 99 years old when she died. The animal lover and activist spoke frequently about her thoughts on aging and longevity, always noting that perspective was key.

"I have no fear or dread of death," she said during an October 2012 TimesTalks conversation. "I'm happy as a lark to stay around as long as I can."

White credited her mother for passing on what she called "a wonderful approach to death."

"She always thought of it as ... 'We know we have managed to find out almost anything that exists, but nobody knows ... what happens at that moment when it's over,' " the actress explained. "And she said, 'It's the one secret that we don't know.' So whenever we would lose somebody very close and very dear, she would always say, 'Well, now he knows the secret.' And it took the curse off of it somehow."

What were Betty White’s last words?

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Betty White in 2015.

Vicki Lawrence — who costarred with White on The Carol Burnett Show and Mama's Family — told E! News' Daily Pop in January 2022 that the actress's final words were a call to her late husband.

"[Carol Burnett] texted me back and she said that she spoke to Betty's assistant who was with her when she died," Lawrence said. "Her assistant said the last word out of her mouth was 'Allen.' She said, 'How sweet and loving is that?' "

The actress added, "I said, 'It's so sweet and so loving and, god, I hope it's true.' "

White and Ludden, a popular TV game show host, were married for nearly 20 years before he died of stomach cancer on June 9, 1981. The actress never remarried, telling Anderson Cooper in a 2011 CNN interview: "I had the love of my life. If you've had the best, who needs the rest?"

What was the public's reaction to Betty White’s death?

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A memorial to Betty White on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2021.

News of White's death resulted in an outpouring of love from the actress's fans and Hollywood peers, whom many dubbed a "national treasure."

"The world looks different now," Ryan Reynolds, who starred in The Proposal with White in 2009, wrote on X. "She was great at defying expectation. She managed to grow very old and somehow, not old enough. We'll miss you, Betty."

President Joe Biden and First Lady Dr. Jill Biden also addressed the entertainer's death, calling her "a lovely lady," per a CNN reporter. Despite the nearly unanimous praise and affection she inspired, Witjas said she was often taken aback by just how deeply she was cherished.

"Every time I told her, 'Betty, you're loved,' she would look at me with a wry smile and say, 'Really?' " he told PEOPLE. "I hope she knew. I think she did. It was something beyond love."

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