The television star, who died on Friday at age 99, shared an image of the celebrity weekly’s tribute to her earlier this week.
For months, editors at People magazine had been zeroing in on Betty White for an end-of-year cover article. Her 100th birthday was coming up on Jan.17, and readers always seemed to warm to her self-deprecating, slightly naughty observations. As the toast of social media in recent years, Ms. White appealed to old and young. By mid-December, Liz McNeil, a 29-year-veteran of the magazine, and a new colleague, Dory Jackson, were collaborating on the piece, with Ms. White responding to questions via email, according to Wendy Naugle, People’s deputy editor. On Dec.23, editors closed the issue. It hit newsstands on Wednesday and began arriving in subscriber mailboxes on Friday. Next to a glossy photograph of Ms. White, her eyes twinkling, the People trumpets sounded: “ Betty White Turns 100! ” Ms. White died on Friday morning. She was 99. As tributes began to wash across Twitter, with fans celebrating Ms. White’s comedic performances on “The Golden Girls” and “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” People also began to trend. Some fans blamed the magazine for jinxing Ms. White. (In addition to its weekly issue, People also marked her impending centennial with a commemorative issue entirely devoted to her seven-decade career.
