Betty White's Stance On Her Career Resurgence: "I Haven't Been Away"

When we caught up with Betty White (A ton of photos HERE) as she entered her 89th birthday party at Le Cirque last night, she chatted with us about aging, her first love, and reports of her career's resurgence. She also thinks she's hot!

As the gaggle of journalists lay in wait for White's traipse down the red carpet, an enthused gossip reporter yelled to ask about White's birthday wishes.

"That we can just keep on doin' what we're doin'," said the former Golden Girl and star of "Hot In Cleveland."

Having attained a high perspicuous vantage point at her advanced age, she had some perles de sagesse to impart to the LiLo's of the entertainment industry.

"Be a professional and appreciate the business you're in," she said. "Everybody all over the world would love to be in your business, so don't abuse it."

It would seem reasonable to assert that Betty White's career took a quantum leap after her famed Snickers Super Bowl commercial from last year. But when asked to assess that gig's role in her career resurgence, she was nonplussed.

"Look, career resurge--I haven't been away," she argued. "I never left."

For her birthday, TV Land, the network that produces "Hot In Cleveland," adopted an orphaned baby elephant in Africa for the actress named Murka. White will receive monthly updates on her grandelephant's progress. She noted a favorite gift of hers in the past was a Pekingese puppy named Bandit ("because he stole my heart").

"My first love probably had a leg on each corner," she said of her affection for four-legged creatures. "It was probably an animal."

She then reflected for a moment of poignant silence, as she thought about her deceased husband.

"But the love of my life of course was Allen Ludden and still is, because we had a love like nobody else," she said.

We asked how White stayed so hot at 89, and it seemed as if it took several moments for her to process the words.

"Oh, I bet I'm hot," she said in a dead-pan before heading into her fete.