Betty White’s cause of death has been revealed to be a stroke that she had six days before she died, according to her death certificate obtained by In Touch

The beloved Golden Girls star died after a cerebrovascular accident, which is a loss of blood flow to part of the brain that results in brain tissue damage, according to her death certificate. TMZ was first to report Whites cause of death at age 99, noting she was “alert and coherent after the stroke, and she died peacefully in her sleep at home.”

Actress Betty White Dies at 99: Never 'Feared Passing' Away
Evan Agostini/Invision/AP/Shutterstock

White died days before she turned 100, passing away in her house in Los Angeles, California, on December 31, 2021, just before the new year.

“Even though Betty was about to be 100, I thought she would live forever,” her agent Jeff 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.” 

Days later, Witjas released another statement to debunk rumors surrounding her passing. “People are saying her death was related to getting a booster shot three days earlier but that is not true,” he told People. “She died of natural causes. Her death should not be politicized — that is not the life she lived.” 

Prior to her death, the Mary Tyler Moore Show alum was in great spirits and looking forward to celebrating a big milestone in her life. 

Betty White Cause of Death
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“[I’m] amazed,” she gushed to Entertainment Tonight in an interview published on December 29. “No, seriously, I’m the luckiest broad on two feet to be as healthy as I am and to feel as good as I do!”

White has continued to enchant audiences in recent years, appearing in Hot in Cleveland, which aired on TV Land from 2010 to 2015. The Illinois native won two consecutive SAG Awards for her role as Elka Ostrovsky in the series. 

The early television star was also a fan-favorite guest on many long-running game shows, including Match Game, Password, To Tell the Truth and The $25,000 Pyramid.

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