Betty White’s Cause Of Death Has Been Revealed

Ever since the beloved sitcom actress Betty White passed away less than three weeks ahead of celebrating her birthday, her fans have been wanting to know what ailed the beloved star.

By Apeksha Bagchi | Published

This article is more than 2 years old

betty white cause of death

Ever since the beloved sitcom actress Betty White passed away less than three weeks ahead of celebrating her birthday, her fans have been wanting to know what ailed the beloved star. The actress was popularly known for her memorable roles in shows like The Golden Girls, Hot in Cleveland, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, and films like The Proposal. Though Betty White was in her late 90’s, she always appeared to be in peak health prior to her sudden demise on December 31 at her home in Los Angeles. Fortunately, authorities have cleared all doubts and revealed Betty White’s cause of death just days ahead of her 100th birthday. 

As reported by the outlet TMZ, which has shared details from Betty White’s death certificate, her cause of death was a stroke she suffered six days before her death. As per her LA County death certificate, White was at her home in the Brentwood section of Los Angeles when she suffered a cerebrovascular accident, i.e., the medical term for a stroke, on December 25. A stroke is a medical condition that takes place when a part of the brain experiences poor or loss of blood flow, causing cell death as brain tissue does not get oxygen and nutrients. This, in turn, can cause brain damage, sometimes disability with long-term effects, and even death in some cases. 

Just a few weeks before suffering from the stroke, Betty White, 99, had told People magazine that she was “so lucky to be in such good health and feel so good at this age.” The actress had admitted that she felt “amazing” about turning 100 in a few weeks (her birthday is on January 17). But she, unfortunately, passed away days after enthusiastically expressing her zeal for life in the interview. Jeff Witjas, her longtime agent and friend, was the one who first confirmed her death. Initially, Witjas had to debunk rumors that Betty White’s cause of death was the COVID-19 vaccine booster shot she recently received. 

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In his chat with E! News on January 3, Witjas had established that Betty White’s cause of death was natural and she “died peacefully in her sleep at her home.” He shot down speculation that her death was associated with the COVID-19 vaccine she received and cautioned people to use her demise for pulling political twists as “that is not the life she lived.” As reported by CBS News, the actress has been cremated and Glenn Kaplan, the individual tasked with overlooking White’s advanced health care directive, received her remains on January 7. 

The LA County certificate, which revealed Betty White’s cause of death, lists her legal name as Betty Marion Ludden. She took the last name of her late husband Allen Ludden, who was an actor and a game show host of the TV series Password. The couple was married from 1963 until Allen’s death in 1981 and White had often expressed her love for her late husband in later interviews. Post her death, Witjas shared that the actress never feared the fact that she would die one day as she always wanted to be with her husband Allen Ludden and “believed she would be with him again.”