FOREVER GOLDEN

She’s just turned 98 but sparkling Betty White is as spirited as she was when she played ditsy Rose in The Golden Girls

- SANDY COOK

SHE’S the twinkly-eyed queen of the small screen, the dimpled grand dame of Hollywood and the last Golden Girl standing.

And Betty White isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. The beloved actress has just celebrated her 98th birthday – but not for her a quiet tea party with a couple of sweet old dears.

When you’re the oldest working actress in Tinseltown and one of the most highly respected stars of all time, people take note. And Betty’s big day was marked with an eruption of messages and memes and an outpouring of love.

Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds, with whom she starred in the 2014 movie The Proposal, even serenaded her with a special birthday song.

The actors sang their parts separately to the camera, and Ryan then merged the clips to create a touching and hilarious tribute to the nonagenarian superstar.

Sandra (55) ended with, “From Sandy, who loves you more than Ryan.” To which he replied, “What did Sandy ever do for you? Did she ever show up and hand-deliver flowers to you wearing nothing but black socks and a dozen gold bracelets, just like you requested? Doubt it.”

Betty was no doubt delighted. She’s the epitome of the age-is-nothing-but-a-number adage. “I’m 92 and I can still steal yo’ man,” she tweeted in 2014. Followed by, “Who cares about age when you still have your beauty?”

Many older people are reluctant to jump on the social media bandwagon but not Betty – she has 1,4 million Instagram followers and 1,39 million Twitter fans to her name.

Nothing much seems to get her down – not even recurring rumours of her death, which popped up in 2014, 2015 and again last year. “Tell them there’s no need to get impatient,” she quipped the last time. “I’m hurrying as best I can.”