Why did Betty White never have children of her own? Actress dies days ahead of 100th birthday
Iconic American comedian and actress Betty White has died at age 99, just days before her 100th birthday on January 17. According to a report from TMZ, the actress passed away at her home just before 9.30 am ET on Friday.
Recently, White had told told PEOPLE, “I'm so lucky to be in such good health and feel so good at this age. It's amazing,” before stating that being “born a cockeyed optimist” is the secret to her cheerful nature. “I got it from my mom, and that never changed. I always find the positive,” she said.
The veteran actress also spilled beans about her long life as she jokingly mentioned, “I try to avoid anything green. I think it's working.” White had a prosperous career in Hollywood - from playing exemplary roles in ‘The Golden Girls’ and ‘The Mary Tyler Moore Show’, to doing iconic characters in ‘Hot in Cleveland’ and the 2009 movie ‘The Proposal’.
READ MORE
Betty White, 98, in 'good health' as she self-isolates amid lockdown: 'The virus is afraid of her!'
She rarely left her home once the COVID-19 pandemic began and was living a peaceful life in Los Angeles playing crossword puzzles and card games. Her longtime agent and friend, Jeff Witjas, said: “Betty lives a life of happiness. She always thinks of others first, and she stays positive no matter what, even when I beat her at our favorite game of gin rummy!”
Why did Betty White never have her own kids?
White was married thrice. Her first husband was Dick Barker. She then married Lane Allen before tying the knot with her third and last husband, Allen Ludden, in 1963, with whom she had three stepkids – David, Martha, and Sarah Ludden. Reports said she has had a normal relationship with her stepchildren. Even Sandra Bullock has taken inspiration from her. In 2009, Bullock told PEOPLE, “[Betty] said, ‘You know what? I never had children biologically. I married someone who had three children. And how blessed I was to have those three stepchildren.’ That’s exactly what happened to me.”
‘The Golden Palace’ star never got pregnant. In 2012, she explained the reason behind it to CBS Sunday Morning. When asked if she regretted not having kids of her own, White responded: “No, I've never regretted it. I'm so compulsive about stuff, I know if I had ever gotten pregnant, of course, that would have been my whole focus. But I didn't choose to have children because I'm focused on my career. And I just don't think as compulsive as I am, that I could manage both.”
And indeed, White proved that she’s a workaholic because in 2018 a close friend of hers, Steven J Boettcher, told Closer Weekly, “She told me, ‘I’m going to be in the saddle forever.’ She loves working; she loves the challenge. She’s someone that we’re all better off for that she’s lived this long.”
The co-director of the documentary, ‘Betty White: First Lady of Television’, recalled her 96th birthday party and added: “It was at her party with 400 of her closest friends. When it was over, she asked, ‘Does it have too much Betty White?’ It was so cute!”
White reportedly never took her work for granted and was grateful for all the success and recognition. She had once said, “I got an award for everything: inhaling, exhaling. I’ve been so spoiled rotten. I’m the luckiest old broad on two feet. Truly! I’ve always been working at something.”