On January 17th, one of America's sweethearts and iconic stars of all times, turned ninety-five. Beloved film/television star, Betty White has been making appearances on and off the camera for over seventy-five years, and still continues acting while making the world a better place. Not only was she one of the few women to be nominated for the first female division of the Emmy's, but also she's a major advocate for animals. To sum it all up, she's a total badass with a "golden" heart. After all, who else can recover from a football tackle like her?
I've been a tremendous fan of Betty White ever since I began watching Golden Girls as a child. I didn't quite understand the concept of the show (especially since the dialogue and themes were much beyond my years), but deep down I knew there was some connection between White's character (Rose Nylund) and myself. I later discovered on Wikipedia that Rose Nylund was supposed to be a representation of White's personality, and a slice of her true life. Not only was her character kind-hearted who devoted herself to charity organizations, but also she was experiencing grief after the loss of her husband. Similar to White I have an amicable personality, enjoy volunteering my time with various organizations, and learned gradually how to celebrate the life of a close friend who passed away. Over the years, the actress became more than just an admirable actress in my eyes (and no, I am not being dramatic). She became my hero.
(Betty White in the Deadpool sequel? Make it happen, Marvel).
Now, I could effortlessly give you an XYZ explanation about why [insert celebrity besides the Kardashians] is a hero to society, but none could match up to wonderful qualities and attributes of Betty White. Fascinating fact. She once confessed in an interview that if she had pursued her acting career, she would have been a zookeeper. It may seem like an odd job choice, but White is anything but shy when it comes to her outspoken love for animals. She is an advocate and donator to several animal charities including the Farm Animal Reform Movement, Friend to the Animals, PAWS LA, and the Peto Foundation. She's even a board member of the LA Zoo, and has has given huge donations towards the zoo. White's passion for animal even went as far as not participating in the 1999 Academy Nominated Film, As Good as it Gets, because there was a scene in the movie that featured....animal abuse towards a dog! She begged for the scene to not be featured in the film, but unfortunately, the scene still made it to the final cut of the movie. However, Superwoman Betty White explained her issue with that scene being in the movie during one of her talkshows. Talk about an amazing actress using her celebrity status powers for good.
(If only I could get my bulldogs to look at the camera like her's).
In addition to her animal support, Betty White has supported various organizations including the Red Cross, Elton John AIDS Foundation, Autism Speaks, The Trevor Project, and the Human Rights Campaign. I wouldn't be surprise if Betty White was a superhero in her past life.
When she's not acting/producing and saving humanity, White is a down-to-earth celebrity who's just like us. One of her co-stars on the television show, Hot in Cleveland, revealed some of White's favorite junk foods. She (her co-star), revealed that some of White's favorite's includes "...Red Vines, hot dogs, French fries, and Diet Coke" (mentalfloss.com). She also loves spending time with her Golden Retriever (which she adopted from Gide Dogs for the Blind), exercising, making inappropriate jokes to humor audience members and friends, flirting, and living life to the fullest. Honestly, I wish I knew as a non-celebrity how to fit in free time to my eventful schedule. Maybe I should ask the actress herself. Speaking about talking to the actress...
Betty White, if there is a slim chance you are reading this, please know I am a major fan of yours, and you are honestly one of the greatest actors in the world (sorry Meryl Streep). And to all of you readers out there, please comment and share this article anywhere on social media so the one and only Betty White will possibly have a chance to read this! I'm not desperate. Just a writer with a dream, and an obsession with Betty White.
