The Truth About Betty White's Parents

Fans were saddened to learn that Betty White died on December 31 at 99 years old. The news of the beloved comedian's death was confirmed by her agent Jeff Witjas, who said, per Deadline. "I don't think Betty ever feared passing because she always wanted to be with her most beloved husband Allen Ludden."

Although White never gave birth to any children, she played a role in raising her husband's kids. This coincidentally became a bonding experience for "The Golden Girls" alum and Sandra Bullock when they worked on a movie together. White revealed to Bullock how grateful she was to be a stepmother. "I married someone who had three children. And how blessed I was to have those three stepchildren," Bullock said in a 2009 interview with People.

Having children was never the top priority for White. "I didn't choose to have children because I'm focused on my career and I don't think as compulsive as I am that I could manage both," she said on CBS "Sunday Morning" in 2011. Even though White decided against having kids, the legendary actor had a close relationship with her parents.

Betty White was an only child to Horace White, who was born in Michigan, and Christine "Tess" White, who was born in Illinois, per genealogy site Record Click. Over the years, the "Mama's Family" alum was effusive when she spoke about her parents, as she described them as the "best ever invented," per Closer Weekly. In the early stages of her acting career, White's parents supported her pursuits. "My parents and especially my mom were supportive right from the start," she told Variety in 2020.

A close friendship was formed between White and Lucille Ball when Ball took the younger actor under her wing. Both women had close relationships with their mothers, and as a result, Tess became good friends with Ball's mother, DeDe Ball. "They were definitely mama's girls ... raised by women who told them they didn't have to take a back seat to any man," a friend of the actors told Closer. In fact, the two mothers were so tight that after DeDe died, Tess would send violets to Lucille every year on her mother's birthday, per Variety.

Well into the later years of her life, White continued another tradition started by her mother. The "Hot in Cleveland" star would eat bologna, peanut butter, and iceberg lettuce sandwiches, which was the same treat Tess made her as a child, per NBC News.