“Kindness and consideration of somebody besides yourself keeps you feeling young.” - To Katie Couric On CBS Sunday Morning, 2011
“I have no regrets at all. None. I consider myself to be the luckiest old broad on two feet.”— To Guinness World Records (In 2014, she was awarded the Guinness World Record for Longest TV Career for an Entertainer (Female).
“Everybody needs a passion. That’s what keeps life interesting. If you live without passion, you can go through life without leaving any footprints."—From her book, If You Ask Me (And Of Course You Won’t)
About being called a “legend:” “I just laugh. Have I got them fooled.”—On a CNN interview with Joy Behar
“My answer to anything under the sun, like ‘What have you not done in the business that you’ve always wanted to do?’ is ‘Robert Redford’.” — The Insider
“I may be a senior, but so what? I’m still hot.”—From her “I’m Still Hot” music video.
“I’m a health nut. My favorite food is hot dogs with French fries. And my exercise: I have a two-story house and a very bad memory, so I’m up and down those stairs.”—During a New York Times Times Talk
About getting older: “It’s not a surprise, we knew it was coming—make the most of it. So you may not be as fast on your feet, and the image in your mirror may be a little disappointing, but if you are still functioning and not in pain, gratitude should be the name of the game.”—From her book, If You Ask Me (And Of Course You Won’t)
“Best thing about being in your 90s is you’re spoiled rotten. Everybody spoils you like mad and they treat you with such respect because you’re old. Little do they know, you haven’t changed. You haven’t changed in [the brain]. You’re just 90 every place else … Now that I’m 91, as opposed to being 90, I’m much wiser. I’m much more aware and I’m much sexier.” —People
“How do you feel about older women?"—To Gerard Butler on The Tonight Show With Jay Leno
“In my head, I’m the ultimate cougar. Animal lover that I am."—To Piers Morgan on CNN
“I not only knew Houdini, but we had a very lovely relationship … I really thought we had something going, and then the son of a gun disappeared.”—Joking to Craig Ferguson (In fact, White was 4 when Houdini died.)
“My mother always used to say, “The older you get, the better you get. Unless you’re a banana.”—From her book, If You Ask Me (And Of Course You Won’t)
“I am still to this day star struck. I look out at this audience and I see so many famous faces, but what really boggles my mind is that I actually know many of you. And I’ve worked with quite a few … maybe had a couple … and you know who you are.”—Accepting her 2009 SAG Life Achievement Award (Afterward when George Clooney was at the podium he said, “In 1987, I did an episode of The Golden Girls and I would like to thank Betty White for her discretion.”
“Well I love Snickers and I thought, sure that’d be fun, why not? So I got over there early one morning and didn’t know I was going to be in the … ice cold muddy water, but all I had to do was just lie down in it. This poor stunt woman took the dive, she went in. And it was a great stunt that she did, and I got the laugh. Now, really, that’s unfair when that happens. She’s probably sticking pins in a little Betty White doll.”—Talking to Ellen DeGeneres about appearing in the Snickers commercial for the Super Bowl.
“I’ve always liked older men. They’re just more attractive to me. Of course, at my age there aren’t many left!”
“I just make it my business to get along with people so I can have fun. It’s that simple.”
“People have told me ‘Betty, Facebook is a great way to keep in touch with old friends.’ At my age, if I wanted to keep in touch with old friends. I’d need an Ouija board. "
““I married my first husband because we wanted to sleep together. It lasted six months and we were in bed for six months.” — AARP The Magazine
“You’re never too old for anything.”
“Oh, I don’t need sleep. I just went to my hotel and had a cold hot dog and vodka on the rocks.”
“Does desire melt away with age? I’m waiting for that day to come.”
“I didn’t know what Facebook was and now that I do know what it is, it sounds like a huge waste of time…at my age if I want to connect with old friends, I need a Ouija board…In my day, seeing pictures of people’s vacations was considered a punishment.” — Saturday Night Live opening monologue, 2010
“I’m a teenager trapped in an old body.”
“But sweetie, I don’t think of all this as work. It’s fun. I’m so grateful for my good fortune.” —USA Today, 201129. “It’s your outlook on life that counts. If you don’t take yourself too seriously, pretty soon you can find humor in our everyday lives. And sometimes it can be a lifesaver.” —Chicago Tribune, 201130. “So, you may not be as fast on your feet, and the image in your mirror may be a little disappointing, but if you are still functioning and not in pain, gratitude should be the name of the game.” —Excerpt from her bestselling 2011 book, If You Ask Me (And of Course You Won’t).31. “Best thing about being in your 90s is you’re spoiled rotten. Everybody spoils you like mad, and they treat you with such respect because you’re old. Little do they know, you haven’t changed. You haven’t changed in [the brain]. You’re just 90 everyplace else.” —People, 201332. “I know it sounds corny, but I try to see the funny side and the upside, not the downside. I get bored with people who complain about this or that. It’s such a waste of time.” —Parade, 2018Next, all the celebrities we lost in 2021.
“Retirement is not in my vocabulary. They aren’t going to get rid of me that way.”
“You don’t fall off the planet once you pass a given age. You don’t lose any of your sense of humor. You don’t lose any of your zest for life, or your lust for life.” —Today, 1991
“I love children, the only problem with children: they grow up to be people, and I just like animals better than people. It’s that simple.” —to Entertainment Tonight
