The evolution of Betty White

Betty White died on Dec. 31, 2021, at 99. Born in Oak Park, Ill., on Jan. 17, 1922, White would’ve celebrated her 100th birthday in 2022.

Pictured here in 1954, the beloved star got her start as a teenager, picking up early work through commercials and programs on the radio. White made her onscreen debut in the ’40s and rose to fame on TV shows like Life With Elizabeth, Date With the Angels, The Jack Paar Tonight Show, To Tell the Truth, and The Betty White Show. In the decades since, the actress picked up Emmy awards for her work on The Mary Tyler Moore Show, The Golden Girls, The John Larroquette Show, and Saturday Night Live. See photos of White through the years, ahead.

Betty White in 1954

Betty White at her home with her dog, Stormy, on Feb. 3, 1954

Betty White in 1955

Betty White in 1955

Betty White at the Christmas Parade in Los Angeles in December 1955

Betty White in 1956

Betty White at home on May 6, 1957

Betty White on Date With the Angels on June 7, 1957

Betty White on The Betty White Show on March 8, 1958

Betty White with her husband, Allen Ludden, in the 1960s

Betty White with Allen Ludden on May 8, 1963

Betty White with Allan Ludden on Password on Feb. 7, 1967

Betty White with Lorne Greene at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in 1967

Betty White in New York on Dec. 27, 1968

Betty White in 1970

Betty White with Allen Ludden on Feb. 14, 1972

Betty White with Allen Ludden, Brett Somers, Charles Nelson Reilly, Dolly Read Martin, Richard Dawson, and Gene Rayburn on Match Game in 1973

Betty White on The Mary Tyler Moore Show in 1974

Betty White with Ted Knight, Georgia Engel, Gavin MacLeod, Mary Tyler Moore, and Ed Asner on The Mary Tyler Moore Show on Nov. 21, 1975

Betty White with Mary Tyler Moore on The Mary Tyler Moore Show in 1975

Betty White with Ed Asner, Mary Tyler Moore, and Ted Knight at the Emmy Awards in 1976

Betty White with Johnny Carson on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson on Feb. 8, 1979

Betty White with Rue McClanahan, Estelle Getty, and Bea Arthur on The Golden Girls on July 26, 1986

Betty White at the 38th annual Primetime Emmy Awards on Sept. 21, 1986

Betty White on The Golden Girls in the late-1980s

Betty White with her Golden Girls costars Bea Arthur, Rue McClanahan, and Estelle Getty in 1988

Betty White with Rue McClanahan on The Golden Girls in 1989

Betty White at the ABC All-Star Party for Summer TCA Press Tour on July 20, 1995

Betty White on Ladies Man in 1999

Betty White with Mary Tyler Moore and Cloris Leachman at the 2nd annual TV Land Awards in Hollywood on March 7, 2004

Betty White with Rue McClanahan and Bea Arthur at the DVD Release Party for The Golden Girls in Los Angeles on Nov. 18, 2004

Betty White with James Spader on Boston Legal on Jan. 24, 2006

Betty White with Gavin MacLeod, Cloris Leachman, Mary Tyler Moore, Valerie Harper, and Ed Asner at the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences’ Celebration for Betty White in Hollywood on Aug. 7, 2008

Betty White with Wendie Malick, Valerie Bertinelli, Jane Leeves on Hot in Cleveland in 2010

Betty White on Saturday Night Live on May 4, 2010

Betty White at the 18th annual Screen Actors Guild Awards in Los Angeles on Jan. 29, 2012

Betty White at the 41st annual People’s Choice Awards in Los Angeles on Jan. 7, 2015

Betty White with Valerie Bertinelli, Wendie Malick, and Jane Leeves celebrating her 93rd birthday on the set of Hot in Cleveland on Jan. 16, 2015

Betty White on Bones on Oct. 22, 2015

Betty White at the SNL 40th Anniversary Celebration in New York City on Feb. 15, 2015

Betty White at the media preview for the Greater Los Angeles Zoo Association’s Beastly Ball Fundraiser at Los Angeles Zoo on June 11, 2015

Betty White during the 70th annual Primetime Emmy Awards in 2018

Betty White turns 99 on Jan. 17, 2021: “I can stay up as late as I want”