Betty White continues to remain the ultimate Golden Girl

The year 2021 had to serve us one final blow. Hours before it became 2022, Betty White passed away at age 99. As sad and upsetting as it was, Betty White had been in show business for decades and the mark she left was indelible. Since then, tributes have been pouring in for White, and rightfully so as she truly became Hollywood’s favorite golden girl.

Most younger people might know Betty White from the likes of movies such as The Proposal, You Again, or Hot In Cleveland. Older people might have known her from Golden Girls, her game show appearances, commercials, or even her own show. Betty White was and still is an iconic figure in Hollywood.

Since her death, Betty White has become even more beloved than when she was alive which is saying a lot. Even so, the most iconic role people think of when it comes to Betty White is her role as Rose Nylund on Golden Girls. Young and old, everyone knows about Rose Nylund and how Betty White played her to perfection.

Even when all the former Golden Girls had died, Betty White was the only one left and with her, the legacy of the Golden Girls lived on. Even now with all the Golden Girls now sadly passed away, Betty White still remains as iconic as her former role and that’s why she’s such a timeless treasure.

Rose Nylund obviously cemented Betty White as the Golden Girl.

When Golden Girls premiered back in 1985, no doubt the world didn’t imagine it becoming as beloved as it did. The series featuring four elder best friends gave us one of the most iconic TV shows of all time. With it came a plethora of unforgettable characters.

While most people looked at the likes of Blanche Devereaux and Dorothy Zbornak as favorites, it was no surprise that Betty White’s portrayal of Rose Nylund remains the most iconic. For fans of the show, we can all picture the deadpan way Betty White would deliver her lines as if she was as naive and thickheaded as Rose could be. It was truly a testament to her talent as an actress that Betty never seemed to break character.

Most notably, Rose’s “St. Olaf” stories really made her character memorable. While other characters had their quirks, it was always bound to be hilarious when Rose regaled the girls with stories of her hometown. As funny as Betty played her role as Rose, she also didn’t shy away from taking on more serious storylines as Rose.

Throughout the series, we watched as Rose dealt with age discrimination, losing her husband in a strange way, and learning to love again. It was truly incredible to watch as Rose went from a shy and somewhat dimwitted country girl to getting a job, finding a new man, and letting herself blossom despite her age. In a strange way, it mirrored the way Betty’s career would turn around within the 2000s and later into the 2010s.

When it comes to performers becoming their characters, no Golden Girl stepped up to the role more than Betty White. She became Rose Nylund in name and never looked back. Even within recent years especially with Hulu streaming Golden Girls, the love for the series was rekindled and with it, a new appreciation for White and her performance.

Overall though, each role Betty White embodied became her own, and no matter who she played, she was always memorable. Even now in death, people think about how they only wanted a few more days, months, or years with her. Despite being shy of her 100th birthday, Betty White left this world as an iconic badass and that’s exactly why she’s still known as a Golden Girl, not for being Rose Nylund though but for just being Betty White.