Betty White marks 99th with low-key celebration

The actress stays up as late as she wants, feeds a pair of ducks and enjoys a meal of hot dogs and french fries.

LOS ANGELES » True to form, Betty White had something impish to say about her birthday Sunday.

“Since I am turning 99, I can stay up as late as I want without asking permission!” she told The Associated Press in an email.

White’s low-key plans included feeding a pair of ducks that regularly visit her Los Angelesarea home.

Her birthday meal was a hot dog and french fries brought in — along with a bouquet of roses — by her longtime friend and agent, Jeff Witjas.

The actor’s TV credits stretch from 1949’s “Hollywood on Television” to a 2019 voice role in “Forky Asks a Question,” with “The Golden Girls” and “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” among the enduring highlights.

In January alone, White is on screen in reruns including “The Golden Girls” and “Hot in Cleveland”; the 2009 Sandra Bullock movie “The Proposal”; and the 2018 documentary “Betty White: First Lady of Television,” about her life and career.

White’s devotion to animals will be on display next month with the DVD and digital release of “Betty White’s Pet Set,” a 1970s series in which she visited with celebrity guests and their pets as well as wild animals.

Her work, always marked by topdrawer comedic timing, has earned her five Emmy Awards, including a 2010 trophy for a guest-host appearance on “Saturday Night Live.”

A native of Oak Park, Ill., White was married to game show host and producer Allen Ludden from 1963 until his death in 1981.

Actress Betty White in Los Angeles in 2010.