Betty White wants Robert Redford to call her

17 January 2019

Betty White wants a call from Robert Redford for her birthday.

Betty White

The television icon turned 97 on Thursday (17.01.19), and according to her representative, the one gift she wants more than anything else is to receive a phone call from 82-year-old fellow Hollywood legend Robert Redford.

Speaking to E! News, her rep said: "In the evening, Betty is playing poker with friends that she has played with for decades. As for her birthday wish, Betty is waiting for Robert Redford to call!"

Betty crush on the 'Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid' star has been well documented over the years, and although they've both worked in the industry for decades, they've never met or collaborated together.

The 'Golden Girls' star once joked: "It never works. I try ever year."

Although Betty might not be so lucky in getting the man of her dreams to pick up the phone, she did receive a touching message from actor Ryan Reynolds, who joked that Betty was one of his "ex-girlfriends", despite their age gap spanning more then 50 years.

Posting a picture on Instagram of himself and Betty during an appearance on a late night talk show, the 42-year-old actor wrote: "I don't usually wish ex-girlfriends Happy Birthday. But Betty's special. Happy Birthday to the one and only, @bettymwhite (sic)"

Betty's impressive birthday milestone comes just a few months after she received a standing ovation at the Primetime Emmy Awards, where she spoke about being dubbed as the "First Lady of television".

She said at the time: "Somebody said something the other day about first lady of television, and I took it as a big compliment.

"And then I heard her talking to her daughter a little later, and she said, 'First lady, she's that old. She was the first one way back.'"

But the 'Hot in Cleveland' star admitted it is "incredible" her career had lasted so long.

She said: "Little did I dream then, that I would be here and it's incredible that I'm still in this business and that you are still putting up with me," White said. "I am thanking you. It's incredible that you can stay in a career this long and still have people put up with you. I wish they did that at home."