Betty White

Betty White Is 98! Here Are 5 of Our Favorite Things She's Ever Said

The wit and wisdom of the iconic actress never gets old. Just like White herself.

Betty White
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Happy birthday, Betty White!

The actress and American icon turns 98 on Friday. What can we say about this Emmy winner that hasn’t already been said? Well, probably nothing, which is why we’re going to let her say some things she’s already said.

That’s right — we’re honoring the “Golden Girls” star by taking a look at some of her most memorable quotes from over the years.

A healthy diet

While speaking to Parade magazine in 2018, she admitted she loves vodka and hot dogs. “Probably in that order,” she confessed.

She also shared her secret for enduring. “Enjoy life,” she said. “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.”

As luck would have it

In 2018, White was honored at the Emmy Awards. She used the opportunity to not only crack a few jokes at her expense, but also to marvel at how fortunate she was to have lasted as long as she has in TV.

"All I can say is it's such a blessed business to be in, and how lucky can I be?" she said.

Age ain’t nothing but a number

In a 1991 interview with TODAY, White talked about the appeal of “The Golden Girls,” which centered on a quartet of senior citizens living in Miami.

"You don't fall off the planet once you pass a given age," she said. "You don't lose any of your sense of humor. You don't lose any of your zest for life, or your lust for life, if you will."

"If you were a dull young person, you're going to be a dull old person. But I don't think just because the years go by that you have to be that way," she added.

Missing her husband

As funny as she can be, White can also be poignant. In 2011, she told Anderson Cooper that she had no desire to walk down the aisle again after husband Allen Ludden died from stomach cancer in 1981.

"I had the love of my life," she said. "If you've had the best, who needs the rest?"

In 2016, she was a little more self-deprecating about her love life while talking to TODAY's Al Roker.

"Nobody asks me!" she said. "Who's gonna want to ask out a 94-year-old woman? It just doesn't happen."

Even she gets nervous

As seasoned a performer as White is — she’s now been performing professionally for nine decades! — she still gets butterflies in her stomach, but has found that stage fright can be a blessing in disguise.

“It’s a lifesaver because the panic that sets in, you have to (counteract) and you have to get a handle on it in order to do what you’re doing," she told PBS in 2018. So the stage fright is what puts the edge, I think, on a performance.”

This story first appeared on Today.com

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