Betty White through the years: A look back at the beloved 'Golden Girl'

White began her career in television shortly after graduating high school in 1939, and had her own radio show in the 1940s. In 1952, she began hosting "Hollywood on Television." As of 2012, she has won seven Emmys and been nominated 20 times.

A stylish White dons a veiled hat in 1955.

White hits a high note with a canine pal in 1957.

White in her backyard garden in 1956.

In 1957, White played newlywed Vicki Angel in "Date With the Angels." The show lasted just one season, and White later said, "I can honestly say that was the only time I have ever wanted to get out of a show."

White and Lorne Greene host the 1966 Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade.

White and Ludden play the game show he hosted, "Password," with an unidentified guest in 1967.

White and husband Allen Ludden are seen at an International Broadcasting Awards dinner tribute to Mary Tyler Moore on March 19, 1974. Ludden was her third husband and they were married until his death from cancer in 1981. They had no children.

Before "The Golden Girls," White's biggest role was as Happy Homemaker Sue Ann Nivens on "The Mary Tyler Moore Show." The man-hungry Nivens hosted a cooking and decorating show, and included such topics as "What's all this fuss about famine?" and "A salute to fruit." She's seen here with Moore in 1975.

White leans against Sultan, a 300-pound Bengal tiger, in 1979. She was working to help plan that year's Morris Animal Foundation Annual Health Conference and luncheon.

In 1978, White joined Tim Conway, Vicki Lawrence, Steve Martin and Carol Burnett on "The Carol Burnett Show."

White plays Jane to Johnny Carson's Tarzan in a "Tonight Show" sketch on Aug. 14, 1981.

White and fellow comedian Lucille Ball pose in 1987.

White outlived all of her "Golden Girls" companions -- Estelle Getty died in 2008, Bea Arthur in 2009 and Rue McClanahan in 2010

"The Golden Girls" introduced White to a new generation of fans.

White places her hand on the star that was presented posthumously to her husband, Allen Ludden, on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Los Angeles in 1988. White's own star is right next to Ludden's.

In "The Golden Girls," which ran from 1985 to 1992, White starred with Rue McClanahan, Bea Arthur and Estelle Getty as four older women who share a home in Miami.

Betty White visits "Late Night With Jimmy Fallon" at Rockefeller Center in New York on Nov. 28, 2011.

White poses with the Life Achievement Award she won at the 16th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards in 2010.

Actresses Sandra Bullock and and White joke around during during the 2010 Teen Choice Awards.

White got up close and personal with Muppet Elmo on TODAY in 2010.

In 2010, White joined Ana Gasteyer and Molly Shannon for the "Delicious Dish" sketch on "Saturday Night Live," unafraid to joke about her "muffin."

White signs copies of her new book "Betty & Friends: My Life at the Zoo" in 2011. The lifelong animal lover wrote about the animals she visits at the Los Angeles Zoo.

White reacts as she and cast members Wendie Malick, Jane Leeves and Valerie Bertinelli accept the Favorite Cable TV Comedy award for their TV series, "Hot in Cleveland," at the 2012 People's Choice Awards in Los Angeles on Jan. 11, 2012.

White is shown here before the taping of "Betty White's 90th Birthday: A Tribute To America's Golden Girl" which aired on NBC in January 2012.

At 90, Betty White is more popular than ever. Here she poses with a bust of her likeness at the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences in North Hollywood, Calif. on May 10, 2012.

Emily Deschanel and guest star Betty White in the "Carpals in the Coy-Wolves" episode of "Bones."