Dolly Parton took to social media to pay tribute to Betty White, who died on Friday morning (Dec. 31) at the age of 99. In a post on Saturday morning (Jan. 1) on Twitter, Parton says White “will live forever.”  She tweeted: “While watching the news last night I learned of Betty White’s passing. Betty will live forever not only in this world but the world here after. I will always love her as we all will!”   The feeling was mutual.  In a 2010 interview, White revealed that she was a country music fan, adding that Parton’s “9 to 5” was one of her favorite songs.  Said Betty: “I like Dolly’s whole approach to life with ongoing and uplifting songs. I never met Dolly but everything I ever heard about her she was a great gal to know and you could kind of get it in her music and her voice and her approach to lyrics.”

White was a television pioneer, becoming one of the first women to take control of her own career in a male-dominated industry. She became the first woman to produce a sitcom, and her work in sitcoms, as well as her extensive appearances on TV game shows, earned her eight Emmy Awards, three American Comedy Awards, three Screen Actors Guild Awards and a Grammy Award. She received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and the Television Hall of Fame inducted White in 1985.

White also devoted much of her life to animal activism. She “died peacefully in her sleep” at her home on Friday morning, her agent, Jeff Witjas, said in a statement.  White would have celebrated her 100th birthday on Jan. 17.

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