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Betty White died at 99 on Friday.
Insider reviewed LIFE's illustrated biography of White and rounded up details you may not know about the late comedy queen.
Her first job was in a Parkay butter commercial, and she originally wanted to be an opera singer.
Before Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, and Ellen DeGeneres, Betty White was the Queen of Comedy — pioneering her way from the radio airwaves to quiz shows and sitcoms.
White died at her home on Friday, New Year's Eve. She was less than a month away from turning 100.
The late comedian made a name for herself on "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" and "Golden Girls." In recent years, White made a huge TV comeback with cameos on "Community" and "The Middle" before shattering ratings on "Saturday Night Live."
Her TV Land show "Hot in Cleveland" completed five seasons in 2015. And despite her NBC comedy show "Off Their Rockers" getting axed in 2013, White kept busy in the years after with appearances on shows like "Crowded," "Bones," "Young & Hungry," and "Fireside Chat With Esther."
But how much do you really know about White? Insider previously read through LIFE's illustrated biography of Betty White to learn what you don't know about the funny woman.
Betty's first work in Hollywood was in a Parkay margarine commercial.
This led to her appearance on the radio show "The Great Gildersleeve," also headed by Hartesveldt.
White has never had acting lessons.
Betty White got a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1988.
Hulton / Getty
The actress said they were never her thing.
"I just want to bring as much natural as I can," said White. "I'm not saying that people who take acting lessons are false. They're much better than I am, but it doesn't work for me."
She originally wanted to be an opera singer.
Betty White landed her first role in the 1940s.
AP Photo/Reed Saxon
White opened up to the Canadian Press while discussing her role in the animated film "The Lorax," which had the actress sing a few bars.
"When I was a youngster, I wanted to be an opera singer, so I took very serious singing lessons."
If she wasn't going to be a singer, she wanted to be a park ranger or zookeeper.
Betty White attends the Greater Los Angeles Zoo Association's (GLAZA) 44th Annual Beastly Ball at Los Angeles Zoo in 2014.
Angela Weiss/Getty Images
"Back then, girls were not allowed to become forest rangers," White told ABC News in 2010.
"They would be more proud of this than of any other award I have won," said White.
White once turned down an offer to be a "Today" show co-host, paving the way for Barbara Walters to get the gig.
If White accepted the "Today" show gig, Walters would not have been a cohost. The above photo shows Walters during an appearance on the show on May 20, 1965.
AP Photo
White said she didn't want to live on the East Coast. NBC wanted White so much the network offered to give her an apartment at the St. Regis Hotel so she could fly back to California each weekend, but White said it didn't seem practical.
The job went to Barbara Walters.
White may never have appeared alongside Al Jarvis on "Hollywood on Television" – and later become host in 1952 – if she passed up an unpaid gig.
Betty White is honored at a Christmas parade in Los Angeles, California.
Earl Leaf/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
Before joining "Hollywood on Television," White was asked if she'd be interested in a television special with then-radio disc jockey, Dick Haynes. The free gig led to a call from Jarvis, another disc jockey, to have Betty as his sidekick on "Hollywood on Television."
White earned $300 a week when "Hollywood on Television" was expanded to six days a week with five-and-a-half hour days.
White's showbiz career could have been cut short if she stayed with second husband Lane Allan.
Betty White and her third husband, Allen Ludden, in April 1965.
AP Photo/Bob Wands
Allan wanted White to stop working and focus on a traditional family life, but the actress chose her career over her husband.
"He didn't want me to be in show business," said White. "When you have a calling you have to follow it, so I made the choice, blew the marriage and I've never regretted it."
White married the love of her life, TV host, Allen Ludden in 1963. The two met while White was a celebrity guest on "Password" in 1961 and remained married until his passing in '81.
White was never a fan of the short-lived TV show "Date With the Angels."
"Date With the Angels" aired in the late '50s.
ABC
In her 1997 book "Here We Go Again," White described her experience with the ABC show as unhappy. She didn't see her co-star Bill Williams as someone who thought funny.
"I think I can honestly say that that was the only time I have ever wanted to get out of a show," said White.
Betty hosted a show called "The Pet Set" in 1971 featuring celebrities and their pets.
Betty White and Anson Williams with a St. Bernard in May 1982.
Marc Karody/AP
The show, produced by her husband, ended after one season when Carnation pulled its advertising.
White wasn't supposed to play Sue Ann on "The Mary Tyler Moore Show."
Cloris Leachman, Valerie Harper, and Ted Knight also starred on "The Mary Tyler Moore Show."
Everett
The part was originally for a "Betty White-type."
It was thought Betty and Mary's friendship may not work out on screen.
White prefers animals to humans.
Betty White voiced a character in the 2012 animated film "The Lorax."
Brian To / Getty Images
"Animals don't lie. Animals don't criticize," said White in the 2012 book "If You Ask Me." "If animals have moody days, they handle them better than humans do."
White estimated having 20 dogs at one point growing up. She loved animals so much, that her first production company, Bandy Productions, was named after her Pekingese, Bandit.
At 95, White said she still enjoyed having vodka and hot dogs.
Betty White enjoys the little things.
Toby Canham/Getty Images
When asked by Parade at the age of 95 what she attributed her long life to, White joked she enjoyed having vodka and hot dogs, "probably in that order."
White was originally offered the role of Blanche on "The Golden Girls."
Rue McClanahan, Betty White, and Estelle Getty at the People's Choice Awards in March 1986.
Reed Saxon/AP
Rue McClanahan was offered the role of naïve Rose Nylund while Betty was asked to play Blanche.
Pilot director Jay Sandrich suggested the two switch roles since they played similar ones in the past, and it was the best decision ever. White won the Emmy for outstanding actress in a comedy series for her portrayal. After the show's end, she reprised her role as Rose in the short-lived spin-off, "The Golden Palace."
White's appearance on TV Land's "Hot in Cleveland" was only supposed to be a one-time guest role.
Betty White starred as Elka Ostrovsky on "Hot in Cleveland."
TV Land
However, producers loved her and quickly gave her a full-time role.
White is "Saturday Night Live's" oldest guest-host.
Betty White hosted "SNL" in May 2010.
NBC
She received a Primetime Emmy Award for her performance, which caused us to never look at a muffin the same way again.
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