USPS to Release New Stamp in Honor of the Late Betty White
"The comedic actor, who gained younger generations of fans as she entered her 90s, was also revered as a compassionate advocate for animals."
It's been nearly three years since the world lost a Hollywood and cultural icon in Betty White, yet the late actress is still leaving her stamp (literally) on the world.
On Friday, Nov. 15, the United States Postal Service (USPS) announced their upcoming line of new 2025 stamps, and one of them is a stamp in honor of White.
"An icon of American television, Betty White (1922–2021) shared her wit and warmth with viewers for seven decades—including roles on The Golden Girls and The Mary Tyler Moore Show," the USPS wrote in a statement shared on the department's website. "The comedic actor, who gained younger generations of fans as she entered her 90s, was also revered as a compassionate advocate for animals."
According to USPS, Dale Stephanos created the digital illustration, which will be released in 2025. The stamp is based on a 2010 photograph of the late actress by Kwaku Alston, and the stamp itself was designed by Greg Breeding, an art director for USPS.
Stephanos shared the news on his Instagram account, along with a picture of the stamp.
"So excited to share the news that my @bettymwhite stamp for the @uspostalservice will be released soon," the designer wrote in the caption. "I’d love to send a letter back to my 18-year-old self with this stamp on it and tell him that everything is going to be OK."
White passed away on Dec. 31, 2021, at the age of 99 as the result of a cerebrovascular accident—what is commonly known as a stroke. At the time, a source told People that the stroke was mild and that the late actress "died peacefully in her sleep."
In a documentary released just 10 days before her death, White discussed how she would like to be remembered after she's gone.
"If you don't at least notice and accentuate the good stuff, when the bad, really tragic stuff comes along it makes it tough to handle," the late actress said at the time. "When you find something funny or enjoyable the whole body has a different attitude. It relaxes. And that’s got to be healthy, to have that aspect as suppose as the tension and the worry. I think optimism has a lot to do that, and I learned that at my mom’s knee. And my dad’s."
Actress Betty White visits Fuse's "No. 1 Countdown" at fuse Studios on June 11, 2009 in New York City.
White discussed her legacy again in an interview with the Television Academy, saying that she wasn't sure if she would even be remembered.
"I would just like to have, somewhere along the line, that I made people laugh and I made them think a little bit," she said. "And the two parts of my life, the animal part and the television part, and I worked them together as much as I can."
In the end, White explained that she just wanted to be remembered as a friend.
"That’s what I’d like to be remembered as," she explained at the time. "Betty as their good friend that they invited into their home."
