ACTRESS Betty White, who starred in sitcoms The Golden Girls and The Mary Tyler Moore Show and made television audiences laugh for more than seven decades, died yesterday. She was 99.

The pioneering Emmy-winning comedienne enjoyed one of the longest careers in showbiz history: she began regularly appearing on television in 1949 and had a voice role in Toy Story 4 in 2019.

“Even though Betty was about to be 100, I thought she would live forever,” said her agent, Jeff Witjas, in a statement to People magazine.

“I will miss her terribly.”

TMZ, citing law enforcement sources, said she died at her home yesterday. The cause of death has not been immediately revealed.

The news sparked an outpouring of tributes, with United States President Joe Biden tweeting, “Betty White brought a smile to the lips of generations of Americans. She is a cultural icon who will be sorely missed”.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which hands out the Oscars, said White was “a legend, trailblazer and cultural icon who blessed generations with her talent and humour. She will be truly missed”.

White was one of the first woman producers on the sitcom Life with Elizabeth in the 1950s, in which she also starred.

As a nonagenarian, she interacted with much younger fans on Instagram.

“It is incredible that I am still in this business – and you are still putting up with me,” she said at the Emmys in 2018.

In all, she won five primetime Emmys, two daytime awards, including one for lifetime achievement, and a regional Emmy in Los Angeles.

White, whose signature halo of white-blonde hair and clear blue eyes were instantly recognisable, adopted a variety of on-screen personas.

She went from playing a 1950s housewife on Elizabeth to a man-hungry 1970s TV personality on Moore to a doe-eyed 1980s Golden Girl retiree.

In real life, she loved delivering irreverent one-liners.

When asked by late-night host David Letterman about her favourite pastimes, the long-time animal welfare advocate replied: “(I like to) play with animals, mostly. And vodka is kind of a hobby.” – AFP, January 1, 2022.