Betty White Cause of Death a Stroke 6 Days Before Her Death

Betty White's cause of death has been determined.

White died on New Year's Eve. She was 99 years old. According to the death certificate obtained by ET, the beloved Golden Girls star suffered a stroke six days before her death. Her cause of death is listed as a cerebrovascular accident in her death certificate, which is a loss of blood flow to part of the brain, which damages brain tissue. 

Cerebrovascular accidents are caused by blood clots and broken blood vessels in the brain, and symptoms include dizziness, numbness, weakness on one side of the body and problems with talking, writing, or understanding language. According to TMZ, who was first to report the cause of death, she was alert and coherent after the stroke.

White's agent, meanwhile, tells ET in a statement, "I have not seen the death certificate. My statement is that I was told that Betty passed in her sleep peacefully without pain…To me this is the most important thing and brings me comfort as her dear friend…. Anything else is private to Betty."

White's agent, Jeff Witjas, previously spoke to ET following her death, and he shut down rumors that she died after getting a COVID-19 booster shot.

"I can absolutely, 100 percent say, Betty did not pass because of the booster, she did not pass because of COVID, she never had COVID," he said. "She passed, with my understanding, of natural causes. Being 99 years old, unfortunately, you know. But there was no outside disease. Betty was a healthy, healthy lady and for those who are trying to start a political conversation about vaccines with Betty White, don't. It's not true. Betty never had the booster, and that is really it. Period."

Witjas added that White "never left the house for, I would say, at least two years," amid the pandemic.

"She was under doctor's care, not because she had any illnesses, just because of COVID," he shared. "Everyone, the doctor, wanted to be very careful that no one would come into the home either without vaccination or even with vaccinations, the doctor was very careful."

Witjas told ET that White was, for the most part, healthy.

"I was over there at the house a number of times and we enjoyed playing gin rummy together. Now I will say, her mind was sharp, her mind was always sharp, and she ticked me off really because she beat me four times," he joked. "Somebody who is in declining health wouldn't be able to play gin rummy, honestly, and especially beat me four times. And as I was leaving, she promised me a rematch. That's the only thing we're not going to have. But at least she knows, as I left, she beat me, because we had a very fun, competitive gin rummy game."

White was set to turn 100 years old on Jan. 17. Her upcoming documentary, Betty White: A Celebration, will still celebrate what would have been her milestone birthday, with new interviews that were filmed prior to her death. The documentary will premiere in theaters across the country for one day only on Jan. 17, and is set to include interviews from some of White's most notable colleagues and Hollywood friends, including: Ryan Reynolds, Morgan Freeman, Robert Redford, Tina Fey, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Carol Burnett and Clint Eastwood, among many others. 

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