Even though learning history is pointless (since it's for nerds and never repeats itself), we've all enjoyed the historical fact that Betty White is, in fact, older than sliced bread. But sliced bread can't serve as a measurement of time the way that Betty White can. Aside from her 70-year television career, the actress and comedian lived through the advent of traffic signals, sunglasses, and ballpoint pens.
Here are seven historical facts worth knowing because of Betty White.
1. She holds the Guinness World Record for being the oldest working actress alive.
In 2014, White was awarded the title of Longest TV Career for an Entertainer (Female). She's often been called America's sweetheart, but with tweets to fans tagged with #DrinksOnMe, she's more like our favorite grandpa's chill girlfriend.
— (@)
2. She showed Hollywood what a successful female producer looks like.
As a trailblazer, White was the star and producer of the 1950s sitcom Life with Elizabeth. She was one of the first female producers in Hollywood.
3. The Golden Girls is factually amazing.
The Golden Girls made TV history by featuring one of the first casts with all-female leads. Somehow, it's still as relevant and irreverent as it was in 1985 when it debuted. Plus, it's Deadpool's favorite show.
4. She reminds us that World War II was sh*tty.
When White was just starting her career, she paused her dreams of show business to join the American Women's Voluntary Services. She delivered supplies and attended nightly dances for soldiers shipping out. She toldCleveland Magazine, "It was a strange time and out of balance with everything."
5. Some historical TV thing that White can't remember.
In an interview with Guinness Book of World Records, she shared that she can't remember the name of the first show she appeared on back in 1939. She said, "I danced on an experimental TV show, the first on the west coast, in downtown Los Angeles. I wore my high school graduation dress and our Beverly Hills High student body president, Harry Bennett, and I danced the 'Merry Widow Waltz.'" It doesn't matter what that first "experimental" show was; White's too wise to sweat the little things. And she never shies from poking fun at herself.
Hot in Cleveland
6. White's the oldest person to ever host SNL.
While hosting in 2010, the then-88-year-old joked about her purity, "My muffin hasn't had a cherry since 1939." Now that we know that's the year she began her career in television, that might be a full circle Betty White Sex Joke™.
7. Hollywood hasn't been around for that long, and hopefully it will die before Betty White.
Since the first Emmy was awarded in 1949, White is both older than the Emmys and the oldest person to earn an Emmy nomination. She broke that record after hosting SNL, winning the 2010 award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series.
Cheers to Betty White! (Remember, drinks are on her).
On Wednesday Lord of the Rings actor Sir Ian McKellen received his first dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine, and said that he felt "euphoric."
Frankly, we felt the same way. At 81 years old McKellen is in a high-risk category for a severe case of COVID. Knowing that the beloved actor and gay rights activist is on his way to immunity is one small anxiety we can remove from the heaping pile of fear and tragedy that has been growing since March.
As this awful year wraps up — with some faint light at the end of the tunnel — this news gave us an opportunity to breathe a small sigh of relief. And we need so many more of those right now.
So as Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are rolled out, here are nine other celebrities who need to hurry up and get vaccinated so we can all sleep a little easier.
Patrick Stewart
Speaking of Sir Ian McKellen, we can't forget his best buddy and fellow knight, Star Trek: TNG star Sir Patrick Stewart. Just like their iconic X-Men characters Magneto and Professor Charles Xavier — though with substantially less super-powered violence — the two are inextricably linked.
The 80-year-old Picard star has spent his time in quarantine well — advocating for pit bull adoption and reading Shakespeare's poetry to his 1.6 million followers on Instagram. But he ran out of sonnets back in October, so as long as Gandalf is getting immunized, so should Captain Picard.
Betty White
Betty White is 98 years old and still kicking ass. Since 2010, when the Internet came together to get her a gig hosting SNL, the Golden Girls star has had a career resurgence, and we're not ready for her to retire yet. Especially not with Christmas nearly upon us, and Lifetime's Betty White Christmas movie delayed until next year.
2021 is 99% guaranteed to be a huge improvement on the current state of affairs, but that will be especially true if we can look forward to watching Betty White train santas next December. So while a very tough 104-year-old woman in Spain recently beat COVID — and Betty White could probably do the same — it would be great to know that it wasn't even an issue.
Among the highlights were Warwick's confusion over Chance the Rapper and The Weeknd's chosen monikers, tweeting at Chance, "If you are very obviously a rapper why did you put it in your stage name? I cannot stop thinking about this." She then called out The Weeknd for his odd approach to spelling before adding, "If you have 'The' in your name i'm coming for you. I need answers today."
But as great as her social media presence has been in its own right, what's even better is the fact that it has spawned some real good in the world. Following their Twitter exchanges, Warwick is teaming up with Chance the Rapper and The Weeknd on a charity single called "Nothing's Impossible".
Raising money for the nonprofit Not Impossible Foundation, which seeks to eradicate hunger worldwide, the forthcoming song is part of Warwick's declared "mission to end foolishness by 2021." But if she's going to win out against foolishness, she needs to be at the top of her game — which means she'll have no time for COVID.
In other words, we need Dionne Warwick to get vaccinated so she can remain the undisputed queen of Twitter and hopefully make another visit to Popdust in a post-COVID year.
David Attenborough
Speaking of older celebrities blowing up on social media, British naturalist and documentarian Sir David Attenborough recently broke records on Instagram, collecting a million followers faster than anyone in the platform's history. At 94 years old he joined Instagram as part of his effort to promote his new film A Life on Our Planet.
The movie's stated goals are to document the reality of climate change's catastrophic effects on the Earth, and to chart a path toward a more sustainable future. Those are some big goals, and Attenborough is going to need to stay healthy if he's going to help us navigate away from Armageddon.
Also, since he recently started lending his soothing narration to mindfulness exercises for the Headspace app, our mental health may literally depend on him maintaining a healthy set of lungs.
James Earl Jones' voice is a brilliant actor with one of the most iconic voices of all time. From Darth Vader to Mufasa to King Jaffe Joffer in Coming to America, he has secured his place in film history. And with the long-awaited sequel Coming 2 America set for release in March of 2021, he's far from done.
Basically, think of how you feel when you watch the saddest scene in The Lion King (you know the one). That's how sad the entire country is going to be if we screw up by not getting James Earl Jones vaccinated.
Bernie Sanders
Bernie Sanders is 79 years old. Yet over the last five years he has been an instrumental part of a transformational movement in American politics — with young progressives at its core.
He has spent decades fighting for the rights and needs of the working class, and he continues to do so as "moderate" and Right-wing senators resist any COVID relief legislation that includes even bare minimum direct payments. He was critical in getting necessary legislation like Medicare for All and a Green New Deal to be taken seriously, and now stands to make a real difference as Joe Biden's likely pick for Labor Secretary.
Whether or not he technically qualifies as a celebrity, it's essential that we get Bernie vaccinated ASAP so he can keep fighting and live to see the fruits of his lifetime of hard work.
Jeff Bridges
At 71 years old, Jeff Bridges is younger than most of the celebrities on this list, but the star of The Big Lebowski and Tron is currently receiving treatment for lymphoma. That treatment seems to be going well, as Bridges recently announced that he was "feeling good," but it still puts him at a higher risk category for COVID-19.
With that said, it's not yet clear what kind of impact the vaccines might have on cancer patients and other people with compromised immune systems. So while we don't necessarily want "the Dude" to be the first in line for vaccination, we're hoping that immunization will be a safe option for COVID protection, and wishing Jeff Bridges a speedy recovery.
Organ recipients are generally required to take immunosuppressants to prevent their bodies from rejecting the foreign organs, but that also puts them at higher risk for COVID. So Gomez is another case of a celebrity who should probably not rush to be immunized — but shouldn't put it off too long either.
So as we look forward to 2021, we can hopefully look forward to vaccinations for healthcare workers, ourselves, and our loved ones — and also these celebrities. It's the necessary step to finally moving on from this awful pandemic.
For anyone whose curious, the CDC has information on when you might be eligible for a free vaccine.
US President Joe Biden delivers remarks during a DNC post election event at the Howard Theater in Washington, DC, USA,
Photo by SHAWN THEW/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. was born on November 20th, 1942.
His teeth and hair were born quite a bit later and are likely immortal, but the point is: our President-elect is old. He's so old that "Robinette" probably seemed like a reasonable thing to put in the middle of your kid's name when he was born.
He's so old, in fact, that he's technically slightly older than the guy who is still president until January 20, and actively proving that old white guys are the milk-on-a-hot-day of politicians: a bad choice (also, they look and smell like spoiled dairy).
Joe Biden is so old that he's almost as old as the runner up in the Democratic primary. He's so old that, once inaugurated, he will be the oldest American president in history. Once Joe Biden is inaugurated, the second-oldest American president in history will be...Donald Trump.
The fact that our two options in the 2020 election to lead us are men who are both more than 35 years older—and about 40% whiter—than the average American, is a damning indictment of our political system. But with both men widely accused by their critics of losing a step and declining into senility, should age be a defining issue in this election? Is Joe Biden, 77, so much older than Donald Trump, 74, that he should be disqualified?
Shouldn't all your major life achievements be behind you at 77? Shouldn't people that old just be sitting on their porches, grumbling about young people? If that's what you think, you might want to ask...
John Glenn - Went into Space at 77
In 1962, John Glenn became the first American Astronaut to orbit the Earth, circling the planet three times as part of NASA's Project Mercury. 36 years later, Glenn made history again, becoming the oldest person to go into space at age 77.
No doubt that record will soon be broken by some decrepit billionaire on a SpaceX tourist flight, but Glenn wasn't just messing around on a quick trip to the outer atmosphere; he spent nearly 10 days in space, participating in scientific studies to better understand the effects of space travel on the human body.
Oh, and Glenn was also a sitting U.S. Senator for Ohio at the time. Damn.
Betty White - Won a Grammy at 90
Betty White has been acting for radio and television since the 1940s, but she didn't win her first Emmy until 1975 for her role as Sue Ann Nivens on The Mary Tyler Moore Show.
For a lot of actors, that would have been the peak, and White could easily have retired from acting and been remembered as a great of her time. But Betty White refuses to be confined to one era. 10 years later, she was starring in another classic sitcom, The Golden Girls. 18 years after The Golden Girls ended, she had a starring role in Hot in Cleveland.
She has continued racking up awards this whole time, with hilarious cameos and supporting roles in many movies and TV shows. And next year she's scheduled to star in a new Lifetime Christmas movie. She'll be 99 years old.
So it honestly shouldn't be a surprise that the actor won her first Grammy in 2012 at the age of 90. White was honored at the 54th annual Grammy Awards for Best Spoken Word Album for the narration of her audiobook If You Ask Me (And of Course You Won't). At the current rate she's moving through her EGOT collection, she should receive her first Oscar in 2049, probably for her role in Golden Girls 2.0, AKA Famous Women's Brains Put into Solid Gold Robots: The Movie.
Warren Buffet - Fortune 500 CEO at 90
Known as "the Oracle of Omaha," Warren Buffett has seemingly frozen time by never changing his habits. Still living in the (relatively) modest home that he purchased for $31,500 in 1958, he reportedly stops at McDonald's for a breakfast sandwich every day on the way to work. And when he gets to work...he's the billionaire CEO of one of the 10 most valuable companies in the world.
At 90 years old, Buffett is still responsible for making investment decisions for a company valued at nearly half a trillion dollars, and he's achieved an annual rate of growth consistently outperforming the stock market. He has also made a name for himself as a prominent philanthropist, pledging to give away 99% of his wealth, and he's recently become a vocal advocate for higher taxes on wealthy Americans—proving that being old and rich doesn't mean you have to be entirely out of touch with what's going on around you.
John B. Goodenough - Won a Nobel Prize at 97
John B. Goodenough is a chemist and materials scientist noted for his contributions to the development of Random Access Memory in computing and Lithium-Ion battery technology. Feel free to look into those contributions in more detail if you understand terms like "magnetic superexchange" (probably has something to do with Magneto from X-Men).
Regardless of the particular big-brain science he was doing, in 2019 the Nobel Prize committee felt that John B. Goodenough's contributions to the development of the lithium-ion battery were good enough to warrant a Nobel Prize in chemistry. He was 97 years old.
And in case it wasn't enough to have helped create two of the most essential technologies in basically every device you own, Goodenough is still working at the age of 98, developing new battery technology at the University of Texas. When his Nobel prize was announced, his advice to young scientists was "don't retire too early." Well said, John.
Christopher Plummer - Won an Academy Award at 82
Beginners is maybe the perfect movie to exemplify how much living can be done later in life. In the movie, Christopher Plummer plays Hal Fields, a gay man who lived his life in the closet until coming out after the death of his wife. Hal Fields discovers new love and how to live his authentic self in his 80s. At 82, Plummer was awarded the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.
In the 7th decade of his acting career, he became the oldest person to ever win the award. In 2018, at 88, he became the oldest person to be nominated for the same award for his role in All the Money in the World. He's also way ahead of Betty White in the EGOT race—just waiting on a Grammy.
Ed Whitlock - Ran a Sub-4-Hour Marathon at 85
Could you run a marathon? Most of us would struggle to finish, even if we had all day. What about in under 4 hours? People do it, but you need to be in great shape, and even a lot of top athletes would have a hard time maintaining that pace. But Ed Whitlock? He ran the 2016 Toronto Waterfront Marathon in 3 hours, 56 minutes, 34 seconds, at the age of 85.
He ran a distance famous for killing an ancient Greek messenger after surviving the Great Depression, World War II, and 24 James Bond movies. He ran 26 nine-minute miles in a row...again, after also traveling around the sun 85 times. Ed Whitlock passed the next year, probably moments after deciding he was finally ready to retire from running.
More recently, in the new documentary Jimmy Carter: Rock & Roll President, Carter admitted that back in the 70s—when he was hosting legendary musicians on a regular basis—his son got shared a joint with Willie Nelson on the White House roof.
This was the same White House roof where Carter installed solar panels—before Ronald Reagan had them torn down. If any one of these details isn't enough to convince you that we would all be better off if 96-year-old Jimmy Carter were president right now, I don't know what you're smoking. Speaking of which, he only served one term, so he's technically eligible to pull a Grover Cleveland. Just saying...
Bernie Sanders - Transformed American Politics at 78
For fans of Bernie Sanders, the coalescing of the entire Democratic party around moderate candidate Joe Biden in March of 2020—just when it seemed like Sanders was about to secure front-runner position—was heartbreaking.
Four years after launching a campaign that redefined progressive politics in the US, Sanders continued to push the party to the left. He and his campaign made Medicare for All, a livable minimum wage, cannabis decriminalization, and bold climate legislation mainstream positions, and he helped to launch the careers of the ascendant Justice Democrats, who may be our greatest hope for the future of American politics.
Aida Germanque - Ran in Olympic Torch Relay at 106
In 2016, Aida Germanque participated in the Olympic torch relay in Brazil in the lead-up to the 2016 Olympic games in Rio. At 106 years old, Germanque was the oldest person to ever take part in the ceremony.
Given the slow pace at which Olympic torch relays are often "run," participating at any age may not seem as impressive as some of the other achievements on the list. Maybe it would be more impressive to mention the fact that she reportedly broke the record for oldest skydiver at 103.
But while it's true that Germanque didn't exactly sprint through her portion of the relay, the significance of her achievement is in the symbolism of the relay. It's about passing the torch to the next runner. And as Joe Biden has already hinted, that's what he intends to do with the presidency—serving one term, before passing it to the next generation of Democratic politician, whether that's Kamala Harris or (fingers crossed) Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who will be eligible to run for president in 2024.
So, clearly, being 74 or 77 does not mean you're done doing amazing things. If history is anything to go by, both Donald Trump and Joe Biden should have a lot of good years left. That said, there is such a thing as "biological age." If a person were to work out five times a week—as opposed to living off Big Macs and (allegedly) amphetamines and only working up a sweat by ranting on Twitter—that person could be much "younger" than someone born a few years after them.
They're not great. Frankly, the world kind of seems to be falling apart, what with the global pandemic and Great Depression-levels of unemployment. We could all really use some cheerful, brainless distraction from, you know, everything. And what's the best, most cheerful, and brainless form of distraction known to man? What a dumb question. It's obviously Christmas movies.
That's why Hallmark started airing Christmas movies in March. They are designed to deliver exactly the kind of baseless reassurance that "everything is gonna be just fine" that is scientifically proven to turn off 99% of the human brain—AKA the bad parts that get in the way of your happiness. Of course there are some more concrete, fact-based forms of reassurance that are pretty good too. Like old people—the really old ones, the ones who lived through the Great Depression and know how dark things can get before they turn around and we all (most of us…) make it out alive. People like Betty White from Golden Girls.
When 98-year-old Betty White was growing up, no one had money, so her dad built crystal radios and bartered them for dogs! She ran volunteer supply runs in WWII! Admittedly, that was just in California, but the point still stands. She's lived through pandemics and wars, recessions and depressions. She's seen some sh** and came out the other side with an infectious smile, a positive attitude, and a friendly relationship with alcohol. She's perfect! Betty White and Christmas movies. That's all we need.
Oh, hey, what's this? Along with a new documentary following Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's exit from the royal family, Lifetime has announced production of a Christmas movie starring Betty White, whose eternal good cheer is the only thing that can save us from the swallowing depths of our own dark thoughts. Oh joy! We're saved! We only have to wait… about seven months—assuming we're lucky and production actually goes through.
The new movie doesn't yet have an official title, but it's going to star Betty White as a tough, no-nonsense woman whose job is to "whip would-be Santas into shape" and promote, get this, "the true meaning of Christmas." Did you feel your brain go a little soggy just then? That's the Christmas movie magic.
The concept is obviously perfect. The only problem is that we have to wait so long. While the government debates how much of a pittance they're willing to give us to get through this disaster, they're ignoring what we actually need: one Christmas for every month of Quarantine. Stay inside with a cup of cocoa and a brain-melting movie starring Betty White.
It doesn't matter if it's all filmed in a Zoom call with a glitchy virtual background of the North Pole, we need to see drill Sergeant White putting the fear of Betty into some trainee Santas ASAP. We need to be grappling with the big, important questions, like the movie's central mystery: "Is she secretly Mrs. Claus?" Is she?! Only time (and a very early premiere of this movie) will tell.
Thanks to Funko, a brand devoted to all things pop culture, there's a brand-new, limited-time breakfast cereal being sold exclusively at Target. As per Today Food, "A representative for Funko (said) that Target started selling the cereal on Sept. 30, with a price tag of $7.99 per box, and it's already been flying off the shelves (and pretty hard to find) at several locations." Eight bucks for a box of cereal isn't cheap, but when it comes to supply and demand, fans of the show and sugary cereal are willing to shell it out.
But is the cereal any good? The color, shape, and taste has been described as "a monochrome version of Fruit Loops, with thick 'Os' in a peculiar shade of blue." The box claims they're multigrain, so at least there's some nutritional value in every bowl. Inside each box comes a tiny toy – a miniature figurine that somewhat resembles Rose, the character so memorably played by the iconic Betty White.
It's been 25 years since the last episode of The Golden Girls premiered, but the love for the ladies and their kitchen table talks hasn't gone away. The folks at Funko may have had their hearts (or their wallets) in the right place when they came up with this kooky cereal, but perhaps they could have formulated a more fitting flavor. Doesn't everyone know that those grey-haired gals were crazy for cheesecake? Till then, head to Target to see if it's still stocked with The Golden Girls cereal. And don't forget to slurp up all that sweet blue milk at the bottom of your bowl!
Melissa A. Kay is a New York-based writer, editor, and content strategist. Follow her work on Popdust as well as sites including TopDust, Chase Bank, P&G, Understood.org, The Richest, GearBrain, The Journiest, Bella, TrueSelf, Better Homes & Gardens, AMC Daycare, and more.
The 70th Emmys were last night and it was basically a bunch of the same thing — self-aware jabs at the awards show itself, awkward scripted banter between presenters, and one show that seemed to win all the awards.
The introduction was pretty standard for an awards show — celebs Kristen Bell, Kate McKinnon, Tituss Burgess, Kenan Thompson, and others sang a song making fun of the bare minimum of diversity amongst shows. However, they did point us to the fact that Sandra Oh has become the first Asian woman nominated for an Emmy in the Lead Actress category — which is kind of sad.
Then, Michael Che and Colin Jost came out and basically did what they do on Saturday Night Live — take turns telling jokes, bantering, and taking chances with cracks about sexual harassment. I'm not going to lie — some of it was genuinely funny like the gag about a new show called 15 Miles Outside of Atlanta where white people call the cops on the cast of Atlanta.
The first batch of winners comes from the comedy realm — Henry Winkler won Outstanding Supporting Actor and Alex Borstein won Supporting Actress. Borstein went onstage with style, taking off her cardigan in the process, while Tracy Morgan openly stated his support for black nominees.
Amy Sherman-Palladino took home the award for both Outstanding Writing and Directing for a Comedy Series for The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, beating both Donald Glover and Bill Hader in both categories. From the same show and category, Rachel Brosnahan won Lead Actress — announced by the hilarious Tiffany Haddish and her queen, Angela Bassett. Bill Hader won Lead Actor in a Comedy Series for Barry, coming a long way from Saturday Night Live.
Maya Rudolph and Fred Armisen then joined Jost and Che on stage in what became a horrible, horrible ongoing skit about the history of the Emmys — full of jokes that didn't land and unfunny faces from Rudolph, we surely could've done without the duo.
The next categories were of the limited series or movie — Merritt Wever and Jeff Daniels won Supporting Actress and Actor for Godless, the first presented by an ever-so-awkward Chrissy Teigen and John Legend. William Bridges and Charlie Brooker won Outstanding Writing for the "USS Callister" episode of Black Mirror.
Next, Alec Baldwin and Kate McKinnon come out to present Betty White, one of the more interesting parts of the show — White speaks about her tenure with television and how she still feels so loved by the industry. Even though her voice trembled a bit, White still kept her charm and even made a little inappropriate joke.
Regina King and Darren Criss won Lead Actress and Actor in a Limited Series or Movie, leading into a special short by Michael Che called "Reparation Emmys" where he goes back and gives Emmys to all the black actors and actresses who were glossed over for the award. Other than Betty White, this was another high point of the show.
Back to awards — John Mulaney and Glenn Weiss won Writing and Directing for a Variety Special, respectively.
Another very emotional and highly entertaining part of this show was the proposal of Glenn Weiss to his girlfriend. "Do you know why I don't like calling you my girlfriend? Because I want to call you my wife," said Weiss.
Afterwards, Tina Fey came out and presented their yearly In Memoriam montage which included names such as Anthony Bourdain, Jerry van Dyke, Aretha Franklin, John McCain and more.
In the drama series categories, Peter Dinklage and Thandie Newton won Supporting Actor and Actress for Game of Thrones and Westworld, respectively. Joel Fields and Joe Weisberg won Outstanding Writing for The Americans and Stephen Daldry won Directing for The Crown. The Fab Five presented Matthew Rhys as Leading Actor and Sarah Paulson presented Claire Foy as Leading Actress for a Drama Series.
An animation of Rick and Morty presented RuPaul's Drag Race as Outstanding Reality Competition Program and Dave Chappelle and Neal Brennan presented Saturday Night Live as Outstanding Variety Sketch series to no surprise. Last Week Tonight with John Oliver won Outstanding Variety Talk Series and The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story won Outstanding Limited Series.
Finally, the two big ones — Will Ferrell revealed that The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel won Outstanding Comedy Series and Kenan Thompson revealed Game of Thrones as the Outstanding Drama series.
It seems like The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel took most of the awards this evening while shows like Atlanta and Black-ish suffered a bit — perhaps the theme of the night isn't diversity after all.
Amber Wang is a freelancer for Popdust and various other sites. She is also a student at NYU, a photographer and intern at the Stonewall National Monument.