Betty White died from stroke suffered 6 days earlier, death certificate confirms

LOS ANGELES — Comedic actor Betty White suffered a Christmas Day stroke that led to her Dec. 31 passing, according to her death certificate.

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TMZ was the first media outlet to report White’s official cause of death.

>> Related: Betty White dies at 99

White’s Los Angeles County death certificate, obtained Monday by The Associated Press, confirmed that the beloved “Golden Girls” actor died at her home at the age of 99 after experiencing an undetected Christmas Day cerebrovascular accident, the medical term for a stroke.

According to the AP, the cause was provided by White’s doctor, as is typical in such cases. The “Mary Tyler Moore” show actor was cremated and her remains were given Friday to Glenn Kaplan, the man in charge of White’s advanced health care directive.

White’s agent and close friend Jeff Witjas told Variety at the time of her death that she had not been ill and was very cautious during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Even though Betty was about to be 100, I thought she would live forever,” Witjas said in a statement. “I will miss her terribly and so will the animal world that she loved so much. I don’t think Betty ever feared passing because she always wanted to be with her most beloved husband Allen Ludden. She believed she would be with him again.”

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According to her death certificate, White had legally changed her name to Betty Marion Ludden after marrying Ludden in 1963. He died in 1981.

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Betty White through the years A headshot portrait of American actor Betty White wearing a veiled hat, circa 1955. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images) (Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

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