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Beloved TV icon Betty White suffered a stroke 6 days before her death

Betty White sits on a swing
Betty White poses for a portrait in Los Angeles on June 9, 2010.
(Matt Sayles / Associated Press)
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Beloved TV actress Betty White suffered a stroke six days before her death on New Year’s Eve, the Associated Press reported Monday.

For the record:

7:59 a.m. Jan. 11, 2022A previous headline on this story incorrectly said “coroner blames stroke” and the article incorrectly stated that the Los Angeles County Coroner identified Betty White’s cause of death, as well as issued her death certificate. The department did not comment on her medical history, nor was it involved in determining her cause of death or issuing the document.

The “Golden Girls” star, whose legal name was Betty Marion Ludden, died from a “cerebrovascular accident,” according to her death certificate, obtained Monday and posted online by TMZ.

A cerebrovascular accident, also known as a stroke, affects blood vessels and blood flow to the brain and can result in tissue damage if not caught quickly.

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Television was White’s medium, and her understanding of what it means to live on camera — her ease, her intimacy — was matched by few before or since.

The Emmy-winning television pioneer was 99 when she died at home in Brentwood on Dec. 31 — less than three weeks before her 100th birthday, which would have fallen on Jan. 17.

The star-studded documentary “Betty White: A Celebration” was originally planned as a celebration of the wisecracking star’s centennial birthday. The film will open in theaters as planned, but the project — previously known as “Betty White: 100 Years Young — A Birthday Celebration” — has undergone a title change following her death.

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