From her thoughts on animals and children to sex and love, these Betty White quotes are sure to shock — and make you laugh out loud.
"I don't care who anybody sleeps with. If a couple has been together all that time — and there are gay relationships that are more solid than some heterosexual ones — I think it's fine if they want to get married. I don't know how people can get so anti-something. Mind your own business, take care of your affairs, and don't worry about other people so much."Vincent Sandoval/WireImage/Getty Images "Does desire melt away with age? I'm waiting for that day to come. Sexual desire is like aging. A lot of it is up here." Wikimedia Commons "A sense of humor [keeps me going]. Don't take yourself too seriously. You can lie to others — not that I would — but you cannot lie to yourself." Graphic House/Archive Photos/Getty Images "There is even a funny side to aging, if one has a warped sense of humor. If one has no sense of humor, one is in trouble."Wikimedia Commons "You know what they say: you can lead a herring to water, but you have to walk really fast or he'll die."Brian To/Getty Images "I married my first husband because we wanted to sleep together. It lasted six months and we were in bed for six months."Bettmann/Getty Images "Don't try to be young. Just open your mind. Stay interested in stuff. There are so many things I won't live long enough to find out about, but I'm still curious about them."Wikimedia Commons "I didn't know what Facebook was and now that I do know what it is, it sounds like a huge waste of time … At my age if I want to connect with old friends, I need a Ouija board … In my day, seeing pictures of people's vacations was considered punishment."Graphic House/Archive Photos/Getty Images "I not only knew Houdini, but we had a very lovely relationship … I really thought we had something going, and then the son of a gun disappeared." Flickr/Kristine "I've enjoyed the opposite sex a lot. Always have. Always will."Flickr/Alan Light "I'm always so pleasantly surprised when I get asked to do something, I always say yes. Retirement is not in my vocabulary. They aren't going to get rid of me that way."Nigel Dobinson/Getty Images "Butterflies are like women — we may look pretty and delicate, but we can fly through a hurricane."Flickr/U.S. Department of Agriculture "I've always liked older men. They're just more attractive to me. Of course, at my age there aren't that many left!"Wikimedia Commons "Get at least eight hours of beauty sleep a night; nine if you're ugly."Lester Cohen/Getty Images "I'm a health nut. My favorite food is hot dogs with French fries. And my exercise: I have a two-story house and a very bad memory, so I'm up and down those stairs." Bettmann/Getty Images "You don't say the hurtful thing even if you're irritated or upset because that sticks, that sticks around."Desiree Navarro/Getty Images "I'm not a big cook. I only go in the kitchen to feed my dog."Bettmann/Getty Images "Animals don't lie. Animals don't criticize. If animals have moody days, they handle them better than humans do."Flickr/Smithsonian's National Zoo "My mother always used to say: 'The older you get, the better you get, unless you're a banana.'"Jason Merritt/Getty Images "Keep busy and don't focus everything on you, that wears off pretty fast. It's not hard to find things you're interested in, but enjoy them and indulge them." Michael Ochs Archives/Moviepix/Getty Images "Oh, I don't need sleep. I just went to my hotel and had a cold hot dog and a vodka on the rocks."Brian To/FilmMagic/Getty Images "It's your outlook on life that counts. If you take yourself lightly and don't take yourself too seriously, pretty soon you can find the humor in our everyday lives. And sometimes it can be a lifesaver."Bettmann/Getty Images "I love children, the only problem with children: they grow up to be people, and I just like animals better than people. It's that simple."Angela Weiss/Getty Images On being considered a legend: "I just laugh. Have I got them fooled."Bettmann/Getty Images "Best thing about being in your 90s is you're spoiled rotten. Everybody spoils you like mad and they treat you with such respect because you're old. Little do they know, you haven't changed ... You're just 90 every place else."Bob Riha Jr./Archive Photos/Getty Images "Everybody needs a passion. That's what keeps life interesting. If you live without passion, you can go through life without leaving any footprints."Hulton Archive/Getty Images "I have no regrets at all. None. I consider myself to be the luckiest old broad on two feet."Christopher Polk/Getty Images
Betty White Quotes On Hollywood, Hot Dogs, And Health That Will Make Your Day View GalleryAn entire generation came to know Betty White as the Emmy Award-winning star of The Golden Girls in the 1980s, but by that time, she had already left an indelible mark as a model, stage actress, and radio personality of the 1950s. And long after The Golden Girls ended, yet another generation began to discover this enduring comedic genius and, among other things, share their favorite Betty White quotes online.
An outspoken advocate for both animal and human rights, Betty White paved the way for women in show business in her youth and remained a staunch activist until her death at 99 years old in 2021.
Her risqué wit delighted countless talkshow audiences and brought in new legions of fans, making her America's favorite uncensored grandmother. Indeed, White spoke freely about sex, love, and divorce right up until the end.
Discover the best and bawdiest Betty White quotes in the gallery above.
How Betty White Became A Hollywood Legend
Betty White was born in Oak Park, Illinois, on Jan. 17, 1922, but moved to Los Angeles with her parents when she was two.
She began a lifelong fascination with animals, while her love for performing saw her appear on radio programs at the age of eight and in plays as a high school teen.
A model and stage actress upon graduating, World War II saw her working for the American Women's Voluntary Services and marry an Army Pilot in 1945. She humorously explained, as seen in the gallery of Betty White quotes above, that the marriage only lasted a few months and was entirely spent in bed. Her most major career breaks followed a few years later.
Cast as co-host of Hollywood on Television in 1949, White went on to found her own production company. Her sit-com Life With Elizabeth yielded her an Emmy nomination, while later romantic interests fell by the wayside. White purposefully prioritized her career, which would include a Grammy and eight Emmy wins.
Her success allowed her to advocate for animals and become an honorary Forest Ranger. Her continuous appeal, meanwhile, led to an online campaign in 2010 to have her host Saturday Night Live.
It not only worked, but helped reintroduce White to a whole new era — and cameos in major films and shows soon followed.
White's most famous shows were certainly The Mary Tyler Moore Show and The Golden Girls, but she is also famous for her indecent revelations on aging and sex on Larry King Live and The Late Show with David Letterman. Even Bill Clinton and Barack Obama have claimed to have been star-struck when meeting her.
But perhaps the most inspiring facet of White's story is her lifelong dedication to animal welfare. The Betty White quotes above reveal how honesty and compassion led her through life — and that a diet of vodka and hot dogs might be the secret to a long one.
After taking a look at these 27 Betty White quotes, check out these 33 inspirational quotes for women. Then for more trailblazers in Hollywood, read about Hattie McDaniel, the first Black Oscar winner.
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