Betty White Shared Her Best Tips For Living a Good Life in Final Interview

Betty White reflected on her long and "healthy" life in an interview that took place prior to her death. Read what the 99-year-old actress had to say.

By Cydney Contreras Dec 31, 2021 8:47 PMTags
Watch: Betty White Dead at 99: Remembering the Actress

Betty White died at the age of 99 on Friday, Dec. 31, mere weeks before she would've turned 100.

Ahead of the milestone birthday on Jan. 17, she spoke to People magazine in an interview, published Dec. 28, about her storied life, sharing the biggest piece of advice to anyone wanting to live as long as she has: "I try to avoid anything green. I think it's working."

Of course, the Golden Girls star was only kidding, but her ability to joke about the topic is a part of her approach to life. Betty told the magazine that "having a sense of humor" has helped her in her 99 years on this earth, saying that she's found happiness by "looking at the positive side and not dwelling on the downside."

As she put it, "I always find the positive," later adding, "[it] takes up too much energy being negative."

Other than that, Betty said that she'd advise people, "Don't take yourself too seriously. You can lie to others—not that I would—but you cannot lie to yourself."

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Betty White's Best Roles

Her sunny disposition served her well in the years before her death. Betty told the outlet that she was "blessed," adding, "I'm so lucky to be in such good health and feel so good at this age."

Eric Charbonneau/Shutterstock

Betty's The Proposal co-star Ryan Reynolds is one of the many actors who have spoken out in the wake of her death. He wrote in a tribute, "The world looks different now. She was great at defying expectation. She managed to grow very old and somehow, not old enough. We'll miss you, Betty. Now you know the secret."

The day before Betty died in her Beverly Hills home, she and Ryan enjoyed a funny exchange. In her interview with People, she joked that "Ryan can't get over his thing for me," to which the Deadpool star joked, "I'm absolutely sick of the media exploiting past relationships just to drive clicks."

Jokes aside, Betty's one true love was really her late husband Allen Ludden, who died from stomach cancer in 1981. Her assistant, Kiersten Mikelas, shared with People that Betty kept a picture of Allen by her bed and "blows him a kiss every morning."

Mikelas added, "At night when she opens the shutters, she blows a kiss to him up in the sky. He is on her mind constantly." 

In her agent Jess Witjas' statement confirming her death, he said in part, "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."

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