Betty White TV Shows & Movies, Ranked Best to Worst

Betty White made her debut in the live television talk show ‘Hollywood on Television’ in 1949. She remained a part of the show until 1953. In 1951, she made her big-screen debut in the Norman Dawn-directed film ‘The Daring Miss Jones.’  She next appeared in television series like ‘The Betty White Show’ (1952-1954), ‘Life with Elizabeth’ (1953-1954), ‘Life with Elizabeth’ (1953-1956), ‘Date with the Angels’ (1957-1958), ‘The Tonight Show with Jack Paar’ (1958-1962), ‘To Tell the Truth’ (1958-2001), and ‘(Super) (Million Dollar) Password’ (1961-2008). In 1962, she starred as ‘Senator Bessie Adams’ in the American political drama film ‘Advise & Consent’ directed by Otto Preminger. While the film’s storyline and screenplay invited some negative reviews, the performance of the cast was praised by critics. In 1963, she became a part of the American television panel game show ‘Match Game’ as a panelist. She remained on the show until 1982. She later returned to the ‘Match Game’ in 1990 and stayed a part of the show until 1991. She continued to appear in television series and shows such as ‘That's Life’ (1968), ‘Petticoat Junction’ (1969), ‘The Pet Set’ (1971), ‘O'Hara, U.S. Treasury’ (1972), and ‘The Odd Couple’ (1972).

In 1973, she starred as ‘Sue Ann Nivens’ in the American television sitcom ‘The Mary Tyler Moore Show’ created by James L. Brooks and Allan Burns. She received 2 ‘Primetime Emmy Awards’ for her performance and remained a part of the show until it went off-air in 1977. She next appeared in television series like ‘Lucas Tanner’ (1975), ‘The Sonny and Cher Show’ (1976-1977), ‘Liar's Club’ (1976-1979), ‘The Betty White Show’ (1977-1978), ‘The Love Boat’ (1980), ‘Best of the West’ (1981), ‘The $25,000 Pyramid’ (1982), ‘Just Men!’ (1983), ‘Mama's Family’ (1983-1984, 1986), ‘St. Elsewhere’ (1985), ‘The Golden Girls’ (1985-1992), ‘Santa Barbara’ (1988), ‘Empty Nest’ (1989-1992), ‘The Golden Palace’ (1992-1993), ‘Bob’ (1993), and ‘Maybe This Time’ (1995-1996). In 1998, she starred as ‘Doreen Sears’ in the action thriller film ‘Hard Rain’ directed by Mikael Salomon. The film opened to rather polarizing reviews and performed poorly at the box office. The following year, she appeared in the Steve Miner-directed American horror film ‘Lake Placid.’ The film received mixed to negative reviews from critics and grossed over $56.9 million on a budget of $27–35 million. That same year, she also starred in the American romantic comedy-drama film ‘The Story of Us’ directed by Rob Reiner. The film saw mostly negative reviews upon release. 

White continued to appear in films like ‘Whispers: An Elephant's Tale’ (20000, ‘The Retrievers’ (2001), ‘The Wild Thornberrys: The Origin of Donnie’ (2001), ‘Bringing Down the House’ (2003), ‘The Third Wish’ (2005), ‘Ponyo’ (2008), ‘Love N' Dancing’ (2009), ‘The Proposal’ (2009), ‘You Again’ (2010), ‘Prep & Landing: Operation: Secret Santa’ (2010), ‘The Lorax’ (2012), ‘Toy Story 4’ (2019), and ‘Trouble’ (2019). The year 2022 saw the release of the American documentary film ‘Betty White: A Celebration’ which talked about the life and career of White. The film was released on January 17, 2022, which would have been her 100th birthday. However, Betty White passed away on December 31, 2021.