End of a golden era BYE-BYE, BETTY

Thank you for being a friend... The late great comedy queen always had a funny take on life

She was talented, hilarious and addicted to hot dogs. On December 31, Hollywood icon Betty White – star of TV hits including The Mary Tyler Moore Show and The Golden Girls – died, aged 99. We pay tribute to the big-hearted actress, who kept us laughing right up to the end.

Hollywood wasn’t interested at first.

Born in 1922, Betty grew up in Los Angeles. Her school pals voted her “best looking female” but when she went knocking in Hollywood, she was told she was too “unphotogenic” to be an actress. She proved them wrong by becoming one of Tinseltown’s most celebrated actresses, appearing in everything from The Love Boat to Boston Legal.

She made her music video debut at the age of 90.

In 2012, Betty teamed up with electro-pop artist Luciana and revelled in rap lyrics like “I will get you sweaty ’cause I’m the big Betty” and “I rock your world with my cheesecake”.

Her third marriage worked a charm.