Because yesterday was her 90th birthday, the Awesome Woman for Wednesday, January 18, 2012 is Betty White, U.S. television star, comedian, author, producer, and animal rights activist. She was born in Illinois, but she was brought up in Los Angeles (trivia fact - she went to the same high school that Angelina Jolie went to).
Her first job was working at a television station as an "assistant," but she went on to develop and produce a television series, which makes her one of the first female producers in Hollywood. http://www.biography.com/people/betty-white-9542614?page=1
She became a prolific guest star on situation comedies, talk shows, and game shows, where she met her third husband and the love of her life, Allen Ludden, in 1961, but she's probably best known for her roles on The Mary Tyler Moore Show and Golden Girls (each of which is remarkable in its own right for the portrayals of women who are not dependent on men and who are supported by their networks of female friends). [Id., except for the editorial comment about the tv shows [;)]
Today, she is such a cultural icon of female badassery that the President of the United States called her on her birthday (and requested her long form birth certificate to prove her age).
Many happy returns, Ms. White.
For more information:
http://www.starpulse.com/news/index.php/2012/01/17/happy_90th_birthday_betty_white
http://www.wic.org/bio/bwhite.htm
