The cause of actor Betty White's death on New Year's Eve at age 99 was a stroke she had six days earlier, her death certificate revealed.
The beloved "Golden Girls" and "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" actor died at her home in the Brentwood section of Los Angeles as the result of a Dec. 25 cerebrovascular accident, the medical term for a stroke, according to the Los Angeles County death certificate obtained Monday by The Associated Press (AP).
The cause was provided by White's doctor, as is typical in such cases.
She was cremated and her remains were given Friday to Glenn Kaplan, the man in charge of White's advanced health care directive.
Jeff Witjas, White's longtime agent and friend, who first confirmed her death to the AP, said she had been staying close to her Los Angeles home during the pandemic.
The document lists White's legal name of Betty Marion Ludden. She took the last name of her husband Allen Ludden, to whom she was married from 1963 until his death in 1981.
The information from the death certificate was first reported by TMZ.
White, whose comic chops and up-for-anything charm made her a television mainstay for more than 60 years who was celebrated by several generations of fans, remained a pop culture phenomenon well into her 90s, long after Emmy-winning roles on television sitcoms "The Golden Girls" and "The Mary Tyler Moore Show."
She died on Dec. 31 less than three weeks shy of her 100th birthday.
Playing on her eminent likability and slightly naughty wit as America's geriatric sweetheart, White was still starring in a television comedy, "Hot in Cleveland," at age 92 until it was canceled in late 2014.
She married her third and final husband, "Password" game show host Allen Ludden, in 1963.
President Joe Biden, Mel Brooks and many other celebrities and prominent leaders paid tribute to her after her death.
