Betty White Quotes & Sayings

I am interested in a lot of things - not just show business and my passion for animals. I try to keep current in what's going on in the world. I do mental exercises. I don't have any trouble memorizing lines because of the crossword puzzles I do every day to keep my mind a little limber. I don't sit and vegetate. — Betty White

People have told me 'Betty, Facebook is a great way to keep in touch with old friends ... '
.. At my age, if I wanted to keep in touch with old friends, I'd need a Ouija board — Betty White

I really don't care with whom you sleep. I just care what kind of a decent human being you are. — Betty White

I think older women still have a full life. — Betty White

I stayed in show business to pay for my animal business. — Betty White

I have a two-story house and a bad memory, so I'm up and down those stairs all the time. That's my exercise. — Betty White

I don't know where I learned elephants like their tongues slapped. Whatever turns you on. — Betty White

We didn't have Facebook in my day, we had a phone book but you wouldn't waste an afternoon on it — Betty White

I still like to see that a man opens the door. I like those touches of chivalry that are fast disappearing. If I sound old-fashioned, it's because I'm as old as I am! But it's just polite. — Betty White

I think the best kind of comedy is the least self conscious. I think if you just sort of let the comedy happen without the elbow nudge, did you get it, did you get it. I love straight face comedy or subtle - relatively subtle comedy. — Betty White

I've always had a bawdy sense of humor. My father was a traveling salesman and he would bring jokes home. He would say, "Honey, you can take this one to school, but you can't take that one to school." — Betty White

I'm just happy as a lark having a good health. People say are you thinking about retiring, I don't have time to think about retiring. — Betty White

I'm a big cockeyed optimist. I try to accentuate the positive as opposed to the negative. — Betty White

I didn't know what Facebook was, and now that I do know what it is, I have to say, it sounds like a huge waste of time. — Betty White

Why retire from something if you're loving it so much and enjoying it so much, and you're blessed with another group of people to work with like the gang on 'Hot in Cleveland?' Why would I think of retiring? What would I do with myself? — Betty White

Friendship takes time and energy if it's going to work. You can luck into something great, but it doesn't last if you don't give it proper appreciation. Friendship can be so comfortable, but nurture it-don't take it for granted. — Betty White

When I pontificate, it sounds so, you know, Oh, well, she's preaching. I'm not preaching, but I think maybe I learned it from my animal friends. Kindness and consideration of somebody besides yourself. I think that keeps you feeling young. I really do. — Betty White

I love words. Sudoku I don't get into, I'm not into numbers that much, and there are people who are hooked on that. But crossword puzzles, I just can't - if I get a puppy and I paper train him and I put the - if all of a sudden I'd open the paper and there's a crossword puzzle - 'No, no, you can't go on that, honey. I'll take it.' — Betty White

If you get into a Broadway show and it doesn't work, you're a failure. And if it does work, you may be stuck for who knows how long. It just doesn't sound great to me! — Betty White

Sex is pretty funny, let's face it. And the more seriously we take ourselves, the funnier sex gets, I think. — Betty White

I have the backbone of an eel. — Betty White

My mother always used to say, The older you get, the better you get. Unless you're a banana. — Betty White

I cannot stand the people who get wonderful starts in show business and who abuse it. Lindsay Lohan and Charlie Sheen, for example, although there are plenty of others, too. They are the most blessed people in the world, and they don't appreciate it. — Betty White

When I'm around animals, I don't pay attention to people. — Betty White

Get at least 8 hours of beauty sleep. 9 if you're ugly. — Betty White

I don't seem to require a lot of sleep. I just - if I get four, five good hours, I'm fine. But sleeping is sort of dull. There's a lot of other good stuff that you can do without just lying down and closing your eyes. — Betty White

I know unless I'm true to myself I couldn't be happy. Too much emphasis is placed today on externals and too little on character. — Betty White

The writers are the stars of every really successful sitcom. — Betty White

Animal lover that I am, a cougar I am not. — Betty White

The bottom line is, I'm blessed with good health. On top of that, I don't go around thinking 'Oh, I'm 90, I better do this or I better do that.' I'm just Betty. I'm the same Betty that I've always been. Take it or leave it. — Betty White

The audience today has heard every joke. They know every plot. They know where you're going before you even start. That's a tough audience to surprise, and a tough audience to write for. It's much more competitive now, because the audience is so much more - I want to say 'sophisticated.' — Betty White

I think it's your mental attitude. So many of us start dreading age in high school and that's a waste of a lovely life. 'Oh ... I'm 30, oh, I'm 40, oh, 50.' Make the most of it. — Betty White

Snow always inspires such awe in me. Just consider one tiny snowflake alone, so delicate, so fragile, so ethereal. And yet, let a billion of them come together through the majestic force of nature, they can screw up a whole city. — Betty White

I may be a senior, but so what? I'm still hot. — Betty White

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. — Betty White

Gravity has taken over me from time to time. But otherwise than that, I'm blessed with good health. That's the bottom line. — Betty White

The thing that I love about television there are no more than two or three people watching you at a time. If there are more than two or three people in a room they're talking to each other, they're not listening to you. — Betty White

I kid around a lot, but pranks are not my best strength! — Betty White

It's fun once in a while to do a serious part but I really enjoy doing comedy because I love to laugh. — Betty White

Of course, nobody's tearing my door down. If you're successful you're going to intimidate and scare off the people you'd like to spend time with. They're not going to approach you. And the ones who do are often there because you are a celebrity. — Betty White

I've enjoyed the opposite sex a lot. Always have. Always will. — Betty White

You know what the problem that animal activists sometimes have? They only concentrate on the heartbreaking things to the point where the general public thinks, 'Oh, here comes those animal folks again and I'm going to hear all the things I don't want to hear.' — Betty White

We laugh a lot. That's for sure. Sure beats the alternative, doesn't it? — Betty White

A lady likes to be complimented on her looks, her eyes, her figure. But the personality comments are much appreciated. — Betty White

It's a little known fact that one in three family pets gets lost during its lifetime, and approximately 9 million pets enter shelters each year. That's why it's a wonderful thing to get your pet microchipped and registered with your contact information because then they can be located and the owners can track where their pets are. — Betty White

I didn't know I was a gay icon. I get a lot of mail - but I don't get many bad letters - but I got a woman the other day that was so upset with me because they said, 'How do you feel about the gay marriage thing?' and my answer to that is, 'I really don't care with whom you sleep, I just care what kind of a decent human being you are.' I figure all the rest of it is your business and not mine. And not hers, incidentally. — Betty White

We actors can't take the credit. We love to try to claim the credit. — Betty White

You don't luck into integrity. You work at it. — Betty White

I just make it my business to get along with people so I can have fun. It's that simple. — Betty White

I think we're losing our sense of humor instead of being able to relax and laugh at ourselves. I don't care whether it's ethnicity, age, sexual orientation, or whose ox is being gored. — Betty White

My blessing is I'm blessed with good health. If I weren't feeling good or if I didn't have the energy, then it's not that much fun. But this way, you can get away with murder because you're going to be 90 in January. — Betty White

Being blessed with good health gives you the strength and loving what you do and - is a privilege that keeps you going. So I'm just happy as a lark. — Betty White

I enjoy being busy, I really do. Remember, I'm the stub end of the railroad. I have no family, so I'm not taking busy time away from people that I should be spending it with. So I'm just relaxing and enjoying it. — Betty White

I don't care who anybody sleeps with, — Betty White

I'm in the acting business. That's the ego business. — Betty White

I think everybody needs a passion. Whether it's one passion or a hundred, that's what keep life interesting. — Betty White

I happen to be blessed with loving what I do for a living. I love acting and I'm so fortunate to be able to work in this business. And I get these marvelous letters about how encouraging it is to see someone making the most of their time and still enjoying it. — Betty White

When I realized I could use Facebook as a way to communicate directly with my fans, I thought it would be a great idea. — Betty White

When I started in television, it was brand new. It was the miracle over in the corner of your room. Now the audience has seen every story line. People have heard every joke. They can predict the plot almost before a show starts. That's a hard, sophisticated audience to reach. — Betty White

I'm so compulsive about stuff, I know if I had ever gotten pregnant, of course, that would have been my whole focus. But I didn't choose to have children because I'm focused on my career. And I just don't think, as compulsive as I am, that I could manage both. — Betty White

Now that I'm 91, as opposed to being 90, I'm much wiser. I'm much more aware and I'm much sexier. — Betty White

Retirement is not in my vocabulary. — Betty White

If the guy's a cutie, you've gotta tap that booty. — Betty White

My mother and dad were big animal lovers, too. I just don't know how I would have lived without animals around me. I'm fascinated by them - both domestic pets and the wild community. They just are the most interesting things in the world to me, and it's made such a difference in my lifetime. — Betty White

Doing drama is, in a sense, easier. In doing comedy, if you don't get that laugh, there's something wrong. — Betty White

I was one of the first women producers in Hollywood. — Betty White

I was an only child and I had a mother and father who were just - there wasn't a straight man in the house, and I mean that in a very nice way. They were fun, and we would laugh a lot. — Betty White

When we started in television, there was that magic box in the corner of the room, and 'Oh my gosh - look what it's doing!' — Betty White

I think that a show that is as successful as 'The Golden Girls' is a once-in-a-lifetime thing. If you don't feel proud to be part of a show that has that kind of track record, then shame on you, because that's a privilege. — Betty White

Anger tears me up inside ... My own ... or anyone else's. — Betty White

I'm the luckiest broad on two feet, I'll tell you that. They say once a woman passes 40 she doesn't get any good parts, so I'm blessed. — Betty White

People who don't like cats haven't been around them. There's the old joke: dogs have masters, cats have staff. — Betty White

I'm not into animal rights. I'm only into animal welfare and health. I've been with the Morris Animal Foundation since the '70s. We're a health organization. We fund campaign health studies for dogs, cats, lizards and wildlife. I've worked with the L.A. Zoo for about the same length of time. I get my animal fixes! — Betty White

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. — Betty White

Those that just talk are also the ones that say, 'Why don't they do this?' and 'Why don't they do that?' Well, they're they. We're all they, and we can all do a little something. — Betty White

During the Depression, my dad made radios to sell to make extra money. Nobody had any money to buy the radios, so he would trade them for dogs. He built kennels in the backyard, and he cared for the dogs. — Betty White

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. You know people who are already saying, 'I'm going to be 30 - oh, what am I going to do?' Well, use that decade! Use them all! — Betty White

Facebook just sounds like a drag, in my day seeing pictures of peoples vacations was considered a punishment — Betty White

If you have one good series, you know, it's a blessing. Two good series is unusual. Three is a phenomenon, but right now, I'm working with these wonderful women on 'Hot in Cleveland,' and Valerie Bertinelli, and Wendy Malick and Jane Leeves are like, it's like the buddy-ship we had on 'Golden Girls' and 'Mary Tyler Moore.' — Betty White

Take personal responsibility. A lot of people go, 'Well, I'll get a dog because I have a kid and a kid needs a dog.' And it doesn't work out for that dog and the dog is on the street. — Betty White

Well, I mean, if a joke or humor is bawdy, it's got to be funny enough to warrant it. You can't just have it bawdy or dirty just for the sake of being that - it's got to be funny. — Betty White

A good friend of mine was Lucy Ball. Her mother and my mother were best friends. — Betty White

The film industry gives you the opportunity to meet interesting people. — Betty White

I always wanted to be a zookeeper when I was growing up, and I've wound up a zookeeper! I've been working with the Los Angeles Zoo for 45 years! I'm the luckiest old broad on two feet because my life is divided absolutely in half - half animals and half show business. You can't ask for better than two things you love the most. — Betty White

I'm not what you might call sexy, but I'm romantic. Let's put it that way. — Betty White

I just want to bring as much natural as I can. 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. — Betty White

Retirement is not a dirty word, I am just enjoying what I am doing. If they want me to retire, then stop asking me. Ask and I will say yes unless it is something I really don't like. — Betty White

It's been phenomenal, but everybody keeps congratulating me on my resurgence and my big comeback. I haven't been away, guys. I've been working steadily for the last 63 years. — Betty White

I think a lot of people like hidden-camera shows where they think they're spying on somebody who doesn't know they're looking at them. And nobody takes it seriously - you either enjoy it and get a laugh out of the reactions or not. — Betty White

I won't do anything that is connected with drugs. I've seen drugs ruin so many people's lives. I don't think there's anything cute about drugs. And I don't believe in celebrating them. — Betty White

Humor is like music. It's a rhythm, and you just kind of get the rhythm of it, and you have to know not to let the beat go too long, but to leave a beat in there for it to gel. — Betty White

'Mary Tyler Moore' was - it was my first big hit. — Betty White

I can't get over that at this age I don't feel this age. I'm not trying to be any younger. I'm not lying about my age. If I were lying about my age, I would say I was 89. I'm just at one of those good times in one's life. I'm at one of the high spots. I'm healthy enough to enjoy it. I'm surrounded by friends I adore. Isn't that kind of the best way to sign off? — Betty White

Animals don't lie. Animals don't criticize. If animals have moody days, they handle them better than humans do. — Betty White

You gotta use everything you possibly can! — Betty White

I'm wearing a put-together from a little shop that I favor called the back of my closet. — Betty White

I'm in the middle of my sixth book, which is about animals at the Los Angeles Zoo. — Betty White

Throughout my career, I've always portrayed characters that were humorous, but also weren't afraid to speak their minds, especially when it came to racy or controversial topics. I think this struck a chord with the LGBT community. We both also share a very strong love for animals. When you combine the two, it's a very strong match. — Betty White

One thing they don't tell you about growing old - you don't feel old, you just feel like yourself. And it's true. I don't feel eighty-nine years old. I simply am eighty-nine years old. — Betty White

If you're walking with your lady on the sidewalk, I still like to see a man walking street-side, to protect the lady from traffic. I grew up with that, and I hate to see something like that get lost. I still like to see that a man opens the door. I like those touches of chivalry that are fast disappearing. — Betty White