Six days before her death on December 31, Golden Girls star Betty White suffered a stroke on Christmas Day.
The beloved actor died at her Brentwood home in Los Angeles as the result of a cerebrovascular accident (the medical term for a stroke) that occurred on December 25. The cause of death was provided by her doctor and reported based on the LA death certificate. It’s been reported the actor died in her sleep, and her agent has vehemently denied the rumors that her death was connected to the COVID-19 vaccine.
“Betty died peacefully in her sleep at her home. People are saying her death was related to getting a booster shot three days earlier but that is not true,” her agent and friend Jeff Witjas tells Yahoo Entertainment. “She died of natural causes. Her death should not be politicized—that is not the life she lived.”
Per The Hollywood Reporter, White was cremated and her remains were given Friday to Glenn Kaplan, who was in charge of White’s advanced health care directive.
Just a few weeks shy of her 100th birthday, the actor had been planning a large birthday bash for January 17. Ahead of the big day, White told People in an interview, “I’m so lucky to be in such good health and feel so good at this age. It’s amazing.”
“Even though Betty was about to be 100, I thought she would live forever,” Witjas shared with People following her death. “I will miss her terribly and so will the animal world that she loved so much. I don’t think Betty ever feared passing because she always wanted to be with her most beloved husband Allen Ludden. She believed she would be with him again.”
White’s hometown of Oak Park, Illinois will still celebrate the Mary Tyler Moore Show star’s birthday on January 17, which will now be called “Betty White Day.” With food specials, a mural contest, and a giant birthday cake from a local bakery, it will be a city-wide event worthy of such a bright star. It would also be the perfect day to binge Golden Girls in her honor.