White's friend and agent, Jeff Witjas, previously told E! News that she "died peacefully in her sleep at her home"
By Lindsay Weinberg ••
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File photo of Betty White.
Authorities now know what led to Betty White's death ahead of her 100th birthday.
The actress, known for her roles in "The Golden Girls," "The Proposal" and other popular shows and movies, passed away at age 99 at her home in Los Angeles, California, on Dec. 31.
According to her death certificate obtained by E! News, White died of a cerebrovascular accident, or a stroke. She suffered the stroke six days before she died.
The medical incident happens when part of the brain experiences a loss of blood flow, according to the National Library of Medicine, which says it can cause "lasting brain damage, long-term disability, or even death."
White's friend and agent, Jeff Witjas, previously told E! News that she "died peacefully in her sleep at her home" and debunked rumors that her death was associated with the COVID-19 vaccine.
"People are saying her death was related to getting a booster shot three days earlier but that is not true. She died of natural causes," Witjas said in a statement to E! News on Jan. 3. "Her death should not be politicized — that is not the life she lived."
"Most actors on television are playing a role. Betty White is what she has showed to her public as to who she is. She was really genuine in that way," Witjas exclusively told E! News.
"To all her fabulous fans, I would just say remember Betty's legacy... The kindness, the goodness, the love of animals," he continued, adding, "To me, it's really just remembering the greatness of Betty White, the kindness and the laughter she has left for us with all her performances."
"It is very hard to absorb you are not here anymore,” actor Henry Winkler said Friday after the news of actor Betty White’s death. Here are other reactions from Hollywood.
Her Hollywood career spanned more than 70 years, starting with the 1945 short film "Time to Kill." She went on to play Mrs. Delores Bickerman in "Lake Placid" and Sue Ann Nivens in "The Mary Tyler Moore Show." One of her final performances was voicing Bitey White in "Toy Story 4" and the short "Forky Asks a Question."
Witjas also recalled her long-lasting love for her late husband, game show host Allen Ludden.
"I don't think Betty ever feared passing because she always wanted to be with her most beloved husband Allen Ludden," he said after her death. "She believed she would be with him again."
The pair married in 1963 and he died in 1981. More than a decade later, she recounted their love story to USA Weekend. "He would call me from wherever he was working and say, 'You wanna go out to dinner? You wanna have a date?' And I'd say 'Sure!' Well, going out to dinner meant he'd stop on the way home and pick up a chicken and put it on the barbecue outside. There's a room behind the house, and we'd go out there and put on a stack of records, have our barbecue dinner and dance," she shared. "We enjoyed each other."
ABC Photo Archives via Getty Images
Betty White smiles in a 1958 promotional photo. White, a beloved actor whose small screen career spanned well over eight decades, died 17 days before her 100th birthday.
Herb Ball/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank
Betty White holds her dog Bandy at their home in this 1954 snap. White is a well known animal lover, having based much of her free time fundraising for animal causes and declining roles that features animal cruelty.
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Betty White jokes around in a May 5, 1957, promotional photoshoot for ABC’s “Date with the Angels.” Her quirky and saucy personality endeared her to the American public early into her career.
ABC Photo Archives via Getty Images
Actor Betty White visits with the Los Angeles Angels as part of a promotion for ABC’s “Date with the Angels,” July 2, 1957, in which she starred alongside Bill Williams.
NBCU Photo Bank
Betty White smiles with her husband, game show host and actor Allen Ludden, in a 1960 photo. The pair were married from 1963 until Ludden’s death to cancer in 1981.
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Betty White smiles with her husband, game show host and actor Allen Ludden, in their home on Valentine’s Day, Feb. 14, 1972. The pair were married from 1963 until Ludden’s death to cancer in 1981.
Bob Wands/AP
Betty White and her husband Allen Ludden continue a two-year gin rummy battle in which she’s ahead by a cumulative 6,000 points, Westchester, New York, April 29, 1965. They do it professionally on TV. He’s the master of ceremonies on “Password,” and she makes frequent guest appearances on game shows. The couple plays games to relax at home.
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From left: Edward Asner, Betty White, Mary Tyler Moore and Ted Knight hold their Emmy Awards at the 28th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards on May 17, 1976, Los Angeles, California. The four played Lou Grant, Sue Ann Nivens, Mary Richards and Ted Baxter for “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” respectively.
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Actor Betty White on the Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, with then guest-host David Letterman, March 26, 1979.
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Betty White walks towards the grave of her late husband Allen Ludden, in the company of Ludden’s mother. The 63-year-old died of cancer in Los Angeles on Tuesday and was buried in Mineral Point, Wisconsin – the town where he was born.
NBCU Photo Bank
From left: Betty White as Ellen Harper Jackson, Vicki Lawrence as Thelma “Mama” Crowley Harper, and Rue McClanahan as Aunt Fran Crowley for “Mama’s Family,” July 1983.
Herb Ball/NBCU Photo Bank
From left: Bea Arthur, Rue McClanahan, Estelle Getty and Betty White pose for a promotional poster for the first season of “Golden Girls,” April 22, 1985. The four would play the iconic quartet Dorothy Petrillo Zbornak, Blanche Devereaux, Sophia Petrillo and Rose Nylund from 1985 until the series’ end in 1992.
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Betty White, Bea Arthur and Rue McClanahan during the The 6th Annual “TV Land Awards” in Santa Monica, California, June 8, 2008.
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Actors Betty White and Mary Tyler Moore present Tina Fey the Outstanding Comedy Series award for “30 Rock” onstage during the 60th Primetime Emmy Awards held at Nokia Theatre on Sept. 21, 2008 in Los Angeles, California.
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Betty White seen in a May 31, 2009, photo. She still keeps an active career at 87, with her latest project playing an aging, truth telling, offthewall grandmother for “The Proposal.”
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Sandra Bullock and Betty White goof off onstage during the 2010 Teen Choice Awards at Gibson Amphitheatre on Aug. 8, 2010 in Universal City, California.
Paul Drinkwater/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank
Ryan Reynolds and Betty White appear as guests on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Sept. 22, 2010. The two actors, known for their off-beat, saucy personalities on and off the screen, amused themselves by referring to each other as “a past relationship” for the benefits of celebrity entertainment.
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Betty White arrives at the premiere of Touchstone Pictures’ “You Again,” Sept. 22, 2010 in Los Angeles, California. She remained a “national treasure” for her roles in “Golden Girls” and her off-beat, quirky personality with fans of all ages.
Paul Morigi/WireImage
Thomas Tidwell, left, and Hank Kashdan of the U.S. Forest Service pose for a photo with Betty White who was named an honorary Forest Ranger at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Nov. 9, 2010 in Washington, D.C.
Gregg DeGuire/FilmMagic
Betty White arrives at “Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax” Los Angeles Premiere at Universal Studios Hollywood on Feb. 19, 2012, in Universal City, California. She plays Grammy Norma on the animated film at the age of 90.
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Betty White, next to Lisa Vanderpump and Anderson Cooper, looks on as a man jumps out of a birthday cake at CBS Studios, Jan. 8, 2013 ,in New York City.
Christopher Polk/Getty Images for The People's Choice Awards
Betty White accepts the award for Favorite TV Icon during The 41st Annual People’s Choice Awards at Nokia Theatre LA Live on Jan. 7, 2015, in Los Angeles, California.
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Betty White accepts Daytime Emmy Lifetime Achievement Award onstage during the 42nd Annual Daytime Emmy Awards at Warner Bros. Studios on April 26, 2015 in Burbank, California.
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Betty White’s star along the Hollywood Stars Walk of Fame in Hollywood, California, seen on Sept. 10, 2017.
