The actress, who is also a Chicago-area native, is a regular in a new TV Land sitcom called "Hot in Cleveland." She will host "Saturday Night Live" Mother's Day weekend.
She talked to CNN's Larry King about how she landed that gig.
"It all came out of nowhere," White said. "Somebody put it on Facebook, and they began to get hits, and I never -- years and years ago I turned it down like three times because it is so New York, and I'm not New York. And I just thought it was the safe way to play it was not to do it. All of a sudden this came, and the next thing [I know] I'm going to be doing it in May."
Nearly half a million people joined that Facebook campaign.
White was given a lifetime achievement award at the Screen Actors Guild Awards in January.
White, previously cast only for the pilot of "Hot in Cleveland," plays the snarky but spry caretaker of the Cleveland home shared by three former L.A. residents played by Valerie Bertinelli, Jane Leeves and Wendie Malick. "Hot" is set to start its 10-episode season in June.
White will also guest star on the season finale of the ABC comedy "The Middle," airing in May.
White was an Emmy winner for "The Golden Girls.".
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
