Betty White’s assistant shares ‘one of the last photos’ of her before death

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Betty White was all smiles in the days leading up to her death last month.

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On what would have been the beloved Golden Girls star’s 100th birthday on Monday, White’s assistant shared a photo of the actress taken on Dec. 20, 2021 — just 11 days before her death — looking “radiant and beautiful and as happy as ever.”

In the pic, White is seated in a floral-patterned chair, wearing a green jacket and blouse and sporting an effervescent smile.

“Hello Everyone! It’s Kiersten. Betty’s assistant,” she wrote on Monday in a post shared on White’s Facebook page. “On this special day, I wanted to share this photo of Betty. It was taken on 12/20/21. I believe it’s one of the last photos of her … Thanks to all of you who are doing kind things today and every day to make the world a better place.”

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Kiersten told the Today show that on the day the photo was taken White was recording videos for her fans.

“It was the day we recorded some videos for her fans with regard to her birthday. She was excited to be ‘glammed’ up and to be able to record a message. Of course, it was about her birthday at the time,” Kiersten said. “She wanted people to see that she was alive and happy and really wanted an opportunity to thank people for supporting her throughout her life and career. It was a truly special day. There was lots of laughing and excitement and talk about what kind of animals I was going to round up for her birthday.”

White died on Dec. 31 at 99. According to a death certificate posted online by TMZ , her cause of death was a stroke she had suffered nearly a week earlier.

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Jeff Witjas, White’s longtime agent, said in a statement: “Betty passed in her sleep peacefully without pain. To me this is the most important thing and brings me comfort as her dear friend. Anything else is private to Betty.”

To honour the legacy of the Emmy-winning actress, fans were encouraged to donate to animal welfare charities on Jan. 17.

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Google also paid tribute to White on Monday, by featuring the line “Thank you for being a friend” — made famous by her Golden Girls character Rose Nylund — and a flutter of rose petals when users typed her name into the search engine.

In a special edition celebrating her milestone birthday, White told PEOPLE her secrets for living a long life last month.

“I try to avoid anything green,” The Mary Tyler Moore Show alum jokingly said of her diet. “I think it’s working.”

White also revealed how she enjoyed doing crosswords, playing card games, following along with Jeopardy! , and watching documentaries and sports.

“I’m so lucky to be in such good health and feel so good at this age,” White said. “It’s amazing.”

A new documentary honouring White — Betty White: A Celebration — screened in U.S. theatres on Monday and featured the last interview with the actress.

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“During the many years we worked with her, we developed a great love and admiration for Betty as a person, and as an accomplished entertainer,” film producers Steve Boettcher and Mike Trinklein said in a statement to CNN . “We are thankful for the many decades of delight she brought to everyone. Betty always said she was the ‘luckiest broad on two feet’ to have had a career as long as she did. And honestly, we were the lucky ones to have had her for so long.”

“I just wanted to thank you for coming to my party,” White said in a taped introduction to the doc, according to Entertainment Weekly . “I also want to thank you for all the support you give me. Thank you so much … I’m remembered.”

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