Carol Burnett Fast Facts

CNN Editorial Research

Here’s a look at the life of television, film and stage actress Carol Burnett.

Personal

Birth date: April 26, 1933

Birth place: San Antonio, Texas

Birth name: Carol Creighton Burnett

Father: Joseph Thomas “Jody” Burnett, movie theater manager

Mother: Ina Louise (Creighton) Burnett

Marriages: Brian Miller (November 24, 2001-present); Joe Hamilton (May 4, 1963-May 11, 1984, divorced); Don Saroyan (December 15, 1955-September 25, 1962, divorced)

Children: with Joe Hamilton: Erin, Jody and Carrie

Education: Attended University of California, Los Angeles (1951-1954)

Other Facts

“The Carol Burnett Show” and subsequent reunions and specials have earned a total of 77 Emmy Award nominations, winning 25 times.

Burnett has earned 23 Emmy Award nominations and won six Emmy Awards, plus one honorary award.

She has received three Grammy nominations and has won one.

She has been nominated for two Tony Awards and was a recipient of a 1969 Special Award (along with Leonard Bernstein and Rex Harrison).

Both her parents were alcoholics, and after their marriage ended Burnett was raised by her maternal grandmother, Mabel Eudora White.

Burnett’s signature tug of her ear at the close of each episode of “The Carol Burnett Show” was her way of saying hello to her grandmother.

Timeline

1958-1967 – Is a regular on “The Garry Moore Show,” where she earns her first Emmy Award (Outstanding Performance in a Variety or Musical Program) in 1962.

May 11, 1959-July 2, 1960 – First Broadway play, the musical “Once Upon a Mattress.” Her work earns her a Best Actress Tony nomination.

1963 – Wins an Emmy Award for Outstanding Performance in a Variety or Musical Program for “Julie and Carol at Carnegie Hall.” The show is co-hosted by Julie Andrews.

1967-1978 – “The Carol Burnett Show” airs.

1969 – Receives a Special Tony Award for contributions to the theater (with Leonard Bernstein and Rex Harrison).

1972 – Wins an Emmy Award for Outstanding Variety Series – Musical for “The Carol Burnett Show,” along with Executive Producer Joe Hamilton and Producer Arnie Rosen.

1974 – Wins an Emmy Award for Outstanding Music-Variety Series for “The Carol Burnett Show,” along with Executive Producer Joe Hamilton and Producer Ed Simmons.

1975 – Wins an Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy-Variety or Music Series for “The Carol Burnett Show,” along with Executive Producer Joe Hamilton and Producer Ed Simmons.

1983-2011 – Recurring role on the television show “All My Children.”

1985 – Is inducted into the Television Hall of Fame.

November 1986 – “One More Time,” a memoir that began as a letter to her daughters, is released.

1996-1999 – Recurring role on the television show “Mad About You.”

1997 – Wins an Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series for “Mad About You.”

October 2002-January 2003 – “Hollywood Arms,” a play co-written with her daughter Carrie and based on Burnett’s book, “One More Time,” runs on Broadway for 78 performances.

December 5, 2002 – Her oldest child, Carrie, 38, dies from lung cancer.

2003 – Is a Kennedy Center Honoree.

2005 – Is awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President George W. Bush.

March 2010 – Her autobiography, “This Time Together: Laughter and Reflection,” is released.

April 2013 – Her book chronicling life, death and her relationship with daughter Carrie Hamilton, “Carrie and Me: A Mother-Daughter Love Story” is released.

October 20, 2013 – Burnett is honored with the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor.

January 30, 2016 – Receives the Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award.

February 12, 2017 – Wins a Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album for “In Such Good Company: Eleven Years of Laughter, Mayhem and Fun in the Sandbox.”

May 4, 2018 – “A Little Help with Carol Burnett” premieres on Netflix.

January 6, 2019 – She is honored with The Carol Burnett Award at the Golden Globes. The accolade was created in her honor and will be awarded annually to someone who “has made outstanding contributions to television on or off the screen.”

August 18, 2020 – Files for legal guardianship of her teen grandson, whom she alleges has long been living in an “unstable, unpredictable, and unhealthy” environment. She is granted temporary guardianship. Jodi Pais Montgomery, who previously served as Britney Spears’ conservator, is appointed temporary guardianship in November 2021.

April 26, 2023 – “Carol Burnett: 90 Years of Laughter + Love” airs on NBC, celebrating Burnett’s 90th birthday.

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