Betty White Is Still Great at 98: ‘I’m Blessed With Incredibly Good Health’

America’s sweetheart Betty White is still going strong at age 98 and she has no plans to slow down. “I’m blessed with incredibly good health,” she exclusively tells Closer Weekly in the magazine’s latest issue, on newsstands now. “That’s something you appreciate a lot.”

Amid the coronavirus outbreak, the actress has been keeping herself busy by grabbing a newspaper every morning. “She reads the L.A. Times cover to cover,” entertainer Tom Sullivan tells Closer. “She owns literally thousands of crossword puzzle books and is constantly doing them to keep her mind jumping. This is really serious with her.”

However, Betty’s had to put her game nights on hold until it’s safe for her to meet with her friends again. “She’s tried Zooming her Scrabble game with her friends, but it’s not quite the same,” a close friend says.

When she’s at home, the Golden Girls alum likes to enjoy her favorite snack, “hot dogs and french fries,” and sip on a “vodka martini” in her living room. Sometimes, she even goes to the kitchen to “whip up a grilled cheese sandwich” and Betty will accompany that with a nice “can of tomato soup.”

“Betty loves to joke that vodka keeps her young,” her friend says with a laugh. “She loves the image of her sitting at home in a rocking chair, drinking a martini and watching game shows, but she’s not really a big drinker. That’s not her. She’ll only take a few sips of a cocktail if the occasion calls for it.”

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused Betty to view life in a completely different way. If anything, she wants her fans to know that it’s OK to put your life on pause and take a beat every now and then. “Betty’s message to the world is to slow down and enjoy what you have: family, friends, your pets,” says the friend. “She says that the pandemic is serious, but we have come through worse. It’s Mother Nature’s way of telling us all to slow down.”

For more on Betty White, pick up the latest issue of Closer Weekly, on newsstands now — and be sure to sign up for our newsletter for more exclusive news!