Veteran actress Betty White, best known for her role in The Golden Girls and whose career spanned eight decades, has died aged 99, according to US media.

Less than three weeks before her 100th birthday, the actress reportedly died at her home on Friday.

Her agent and close friend Jeff Witjas told People magazine: “Even though Betty was about to be 100, I thought she would live forever.”

She had a career spanning 80 years and had Emmy-winning roles on television sitcoms The Golden Girls and The Mary Tyler Moore Show.

White was still starring in a TV sitcom, “Hot in Cleveland,” at age 92 until it was cancelled in late 2014.

“Old age hasn’t diminished her,” the New York Times wrote in 2013. “It has given her a second wind.”

The actress said her longevity was a result of good health, good fortune and loving her work.

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“It’s incredible that I’m still in this business and that you are still putting up with me,” White said in an appearance at the 2018 Emmy Awards ceremony, where she was honoured for her long career.

White was not afraid to mock herself and throw out a joke about her sex life or a snarky crack that one would not expect from a sweet-smiling, white-haired elderly woman.

She was frequently asked if, after such a long career, there was anything she still wanted to do and the standard response was: “Robert Redford.”

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