Betty White said the secret to her long life was that she tried to avoid eating 'anything green'

• Betty White shared her tips for living a long life before she died at 99 on Friday.
• The "Golden Girls" star told People that her diet secret was avoiding "anything green."

Betty White died at 99 in her home on New Year's Eve, just weeks before her 100th birthday.

Before her death, the late "Golden Girls" star sat down for an interview with the People reporters Liz McNeil and Dory Jackson to commemorate what would have been her 100th birthday on January 17.

"We are deeply saddened by the news of Betty White's passing," Dan Wakeford, the editor-in-chief of People, told Insider in a statement on Friday. "We are honored that she recently chose to work with PEOPLE to celebrate her extraordinary life and career."

In the interview, the iconic actor shared that her own secret to living a long and fulfilling life was not what we normally hear from Hollywood stars.

She told People that she avoided "anything green" as a part of her diet.

"I guess it's working," she said at the time.

In her interview with People, White said she was grateful to be healthy.

"I'm so lucky to be in such good health and feel so good at this age," she said. "It's amazing."

White said she believed being "born a cockeyed optimist" was also essential to her nature. "I got it from my mom, and that never changed," she said. "I always find the positive."

In 2018, she said it was important to "enjoy life" in an interview with Parade. "Accentuate the positive, not the negative," she said at the time.

She added: "It sounds so trite, but a lot of people will pick out something to complain about, rather than say, 'Hey, that was great!' It's not hard to find great stuff if you look."

In that same 2018 interview, she said she still loved vodka and hot dogs, "probably in that order."

White had not been working on any projects at the time of her death, but according to People, she was enjoying a quiet life in Los Angeles doing crossword puzzles, playing card games, watching "Jeopardy" and animal documentaries, and playing golf.