After nearly 80 years in showbiz, you’d think Betty White would be eager to retire at age 96. But a close friend of the Hollywood icon has exclusively told Closer Weekly that Betty is far from ready to slow down and still “loves working!”

“She told me, ‘I’m going to be in the saddle forever,'” Steven J. Boettcher, who co-directed the new Betty documentary, Betty White: First Lady of Television, told Closer. “She loves working; she loves the challenge. She’s someone that we’re all better off for that she’s lived this long.”

Boettcher’s new PBS documentary about Betty, her life, and illustrious career, is set to premiere on Tuesday, Aug. 21 but the star and her dearest confidants actually got a sneak peek of the film back in January to celebrate Betty’s 96th birthday. 

“It was at her party with 400 of her closest friends. When it was over, she asked, ‘Does it have too much Betty White?’ It was so cute!” Boettcher revealed. 

Though Betty has been acting since she was in her early 20s, the Golden Girls star has said she takes nothing for granted and is very humbled by her success. “I got an award for everything: inhaling, exhaling,” she once joked of her many accolades. “I’ve been so spoiled rotten. I’m the luckiest old broad on two feet. Truly! I’ve always been working at something.”

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While filming Betty White: First Lady of Television over the span of 10 years, co-director Boettcher got an up close and personal look at Betty’s life and career. “We spent a great deal of time with her [on this project] and she never said a bad word about anyone. Through her career, every cast and crew member loved working with her. She’d remember every one of their names, their kids, and most importantly, the names of their pets!”

For more on Betty White, pick up the new issue of Closer Weekly, on newsstands now — and sign up for our newsletter!

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