Betty White Dead: Hollywood Icon Dies 2 Weeks Before 100th Birthday

Hollywood icon Betty White has died. She was 99.

The actress, who starred on seven seasons of "The Golden Girls" as Rose Nylund, passed away "peacefully in her sleep" at her home in Los Angeles Friday morning, less than three weeks before her milestone 100th birthday, her agent and close friend Jeff Witjas said in a statement to People.

"Even though Betty was about to be 100, I thought she would live forever," Witjas said Friday. "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."

The legendary actress was gearing up to mark her 100th birthday on Jan. 17.

"I'm so lucky to be in such good health and feel so good at this age. It's amazing," White told People during a cover story interview ahead of her centennial year, adding that her upbeat nature was due to inheriting her mother's optimism.

In a 2012 TimesTalks conversation with New York Times columnist Frank Bruni, White shared her perspective about death and aging. According to the actress, there is "nothing" complicated about aging, and she credited her mother with her positive approach to death.

"My mother had a wonderful approach to death," she said. "And she said, 'It's the one secret that we don't know.' So whenever we would lose somebody very close and very dear, she would always say, 'Well, now he knows the secret.' And it took the curse off of it somehow."

"I have no fear or dread of death," she added while smiling, "[But] I'm happy as a lark to stay around as long as I can."

Following her passing, People editor-in-chief Dan Wakeford said in a statement that the publication was "deeply saddened" by the news of White's death. "We are honored that she recently chose to work with People to celebrate her extraordinary life and career," Wakeford added.

Tributes to White also poured out on social media.

"The world looks different now. She was great at defying expectation. She managed to grow very old and somehow, not old enough. We’ll miss you, Betty. Now you know the secret," tweeted Ryan Reynolds.

Meanwhile, Sandra Bullock, who starred with White and Reynolds in "The Proposal," is allowing herself space to mourn the beloved star.

"I don't drink vodka … but I will tonight, on ice, with a slice of lemon with a hot dog on the other side and just be okay being sad," she told People. "I'll have to buy some rose-colored glasses because Betty was that for all of us."