Hollywood’s so-called “it-girl” is 88 years old, proudly sporting wrinkles and thinning hair, and not exactly your standard screen goddess. Yup, it’s none other than the inimitable Betty White.
From The Wrap:
Fresh off her ratings bonanza as the oldest host ever of “Saturday Night Live,” with an MTV Movie Awards nomination in tow and now a surging campaign to host the Oscars – and re-host “SNL” — the resurgence of Betty White couldn’t be at more of a fever pitch.
I am so proud of American society for this. Seriously. This extremely talented woman is finally getting her due, and she is just taking the world by storm. It is so very cool. So why now? Well, according to The Wrap, “Thank Sandra Bullock.”
Indeed, the renewed interest in White started with the release of “The Proposal” last June, which White stole from both Bullock and Ryan Reynolds as the heart-attack-faking Granny Annie. And it was solidified when Bullock presented her the Life Achievement award at the Screen Actors Guild awards in January.
The role also garnered the 88-year old actress, who Bullock has called a “national treasure,” an MTV Movie Awards “Best WTF” Moment category nomination for her copping a feel of Bullock’s breasts.
In light of her recent accomplishments, it’s easy to forget about the full span of White’s fifty years in the celebrity world. White was born in Illinois and raised in L.A., becoming active in local theater before taking over as host of Al Jarvis’ music and interview show in 1952. White’s first sitcom, “Life with Elizabeth”, garnered her an Emmy in 1952. 1952! She went on to television success (“The Mary Tyler Moore Show”, “Love Boat”, “Mama’s Family”, “Maybe This Time”, “That ‘70s Show”, “The Bold and the Beautiful”, and of course “The Golden Girls”) as well as film roles in everything from Bringing Down the House to Lake Placid to The Story of Santa Claus.
Yeah, she was a presence long before The Proposal, although I’m the first to admit that prior to this year she was just “the dumb Golden Girl” in my mind. I became aware of the new phenomena of Betty White when I was watching the Super Bowl this year, then when my six-year-old accidentally watched The Proposal when my mother was babysitting her (“The grandmother was soooooooo funny!” my child opined). Not to mention the fact that she was freaking hysterical on SNL.
And yet, she’s been freaking hysterical for fifty years … and she somehow slid under America’s collective radar. Uh, hope you’re ready, Betty, because those days are gone. You are now a major presence on Facebook, with groups centered around you popping up all over the site.
Continue reading