Following her death, Betty White’s agent and friend, Jeff Witjas, told PEOPLE that the late star knew she was beloved by her fans.
“She knew it, but I would tell her often,” Witjas said. “Even when she wasn’t working, I said, ‘Betty, millions of people out there are still asking for you. You’re getting your fan letters, I’m getting offers for you.’ “
He added, “I don’t know if she ever embraced it, [or] really, really felt it. The extent of it. I really don’t. I would always reinforce it with her because I always felt she should know that. I never wanted her to think while she was sitting at home, that the world has passed her by. It never did.”
Betty White passed away over the weekend at age 99. TMZ reports White died at her home before 9:30 a.m. Betty White was set to turn 100 years old on Jan. 17.
“Betty lived a great life and she lived a life that she chose. She was happy,” Witjas said. “Every time I told her, ‘Betty, you’re loved,’ she would look at me with a wry smile and say, ‘Really?’ I hope she knew. I think she did. It was something beyond love.”
White had the longest-running career for any woman in TV. Her first appearance on screen was in 1939 and she starred in 8 shows across her career.
From 1985 to 1992, Betty White starred as Rose Nylund in The Golden Girls. Her career started in the 1940s on the radio and made her entrance to television. Throughout her career, White appeared on The Bold and the BEautiful, Boston LEgal, That ’70s Show, and more.
During her career, she won 5 primetime Emmy awards, and one Grammy, SAG Award, and American Comedy Award each.
In a recent interview with NBC, Betty White offered advice to living a joyful life: “Taste every moment.”
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