MeTV will celebrate the upcoming 100th birthday of Betty White with a special presentation of episodes of “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” featuring beloved Betty as Sue Ann Nivens, the relentlessly perky star of The Happy Homemaker at WJM-TV in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The role earned Ms. White two Emmy Awards as Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series (1975 and 1976), with a further nomination following in the show’s final season, 1977.
“Meeting Betty White in person was a bit like chatting with Sue Ann Nivens, the Party Aunt, and what Bette Midler will be like when she is 100,” said Neal Sabin, vice-chairman of Weigel Broadcasting Co. “Betty is totally charming, very funny, a bit naughty and 100 percent delightful and original. We hope the MeTV viewers enjoy celebrating her birthday with these very special episodes just for Betty.”
With a career spanning over nine decades, Ms. White is a pioneer of early television and was one of the first women to make a mark both in front of and behind the camera, as well as the first woman to produce a television sitcom, “Life with Elizabeth.” She is widely known for her role as Sue Ann Nivens in the beloved sitcom The Mary Tyler Moore Show (1973-1977), Rose Nylund on The Golden Girls (1985-1992) and Elka Ostrovsky on Hot in Cleveland (2010-2015). Ms. White has worked longer in the television medium than anyone else in history, earning her a Guinness World Record in 2018. Throughout her long career, White has earned eight Emmy Awards, three American Comedy Awards, three Screen Actor Guild Awards and a Grammy Award.
Betty White turns 100 on January 17, 2022.