Carol Burnett, the famous comedy legend, turned 91 in April!
After many years of making us laugh, Burnett still shines bright. NBC honored her amazing career last year with a special tribute called *Carol Burnett: 90 Years of Laughter and Love.*
Many of Hollywood’s biggest stars attended the event to honor Burnett, sharing their admiration on the red carpet.
**Birthday Tributes to Burnett**
One of the attendees was Julie Andrews, the legendary star of *The Sound of Music* and a close friend of Burnett. She joked, “She brings out the best in me, and I think I bring out the worst in her. I don’t know why!”
Andrews remembered meeting Burnett at a Chinese restaurant long ago: “When we met, no one else could get a word in. We bonded like that, and it has never changed,” Burnett said about their lasting friendship.
Music icon Cher also shared stories about her friendship with Carol Burnett.
“I would sneak out through the fence to go to the farmer’s market, and we played practical jokes on each other,” Cher said. “It was just easy and fun, and that’s all we wanted to do.”
Actress Jane Lynch remembered meeting Burnett for the first time: “I was firmly in love; she’s exactly the person you hope she would be,” she told the Hollywood Reporter.
The guest list for the tribute show, which was taped in March, included many big names from both the past and present. Stars like Lily Tomlin, Steve Carell, Laura Dern, Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph, Oprah, Michelle Obama, Steve Martin, Martin Short, Allison Janney, Jimmy Fallon, and Ellen DeGeneres all participated in celebrating Burnett’s remarkable career.
According to Playbill, some of Broadway’s biggest stars, like Bernadette Peters, Billy Porter, Sutton Foster, and Kristin Chenoweth, will perform musical numbers in honor of Burnett. She herself is a Broadway veteran, having received Tony nominations for *Once Upon a Mattress* and *Moon Over Buffalo*.
“I’m so excited NBC decided to throw me a birthday party and invited all of my closest friends,” Burnett said in a statement. “I can’t wait to look back at so many wonderful moments throughout my career. I feel so lucky to share this night with everyone.”
Carol Burnett is best known for her groundbreaking variety/sketch series, *The Carol Burnett Show*, which aired for 11 seasons on CBS. It was the first show of its kind hosted by a woman, and Burnett is widely seen as a trailblazer for female comedians.
She has recently received many lifetime achievement awards, including the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor and the Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award.
In 2019, the Golden Globes named their television lifetime achievement award after her, calling it the “Carol Burnett Award,” and she was the first person to receive it.
Last year, she returned to TV with an important guest role in the final season of *Better Call Saul*.
In an interview before her 90th birthday, Burnett shared that she doesn’t feel her age, calling herself a “late bloomer” compared to other performers.
“I can’t wrap my head around it,” Burnett told *People Magazine*. “I still feel like I’m about 11, but I’m amazed. It sure went fast. But I’m glad because I’ve got all my parts — my hips, my knees, and my brain, so I’m happy about that.”
As Carol Burnett celebrated her 91st birthday on April 26, the television legend was still making waves. She recently celebrated her role in the new miniseries *Palm Royale*, appeared on the cover of *Harper’s Bazaar* in March, and almost saw her playful birthday wish involving *Maestro* star Bradley Cooper come true during her appearance on *Jimmy Kimmel Live!* just days earlier.
At 62, This TV Star is Turning Heads – Check Out Her Stunning Transformation
This glamorous TV star has had a life filled with ups and downs, including a successful career, a famous divorce, and finding love again in her 60s. Let’s take a closer look at her journey and stunning change over the years.
This well-known television star first caught the public’s eye in the late 1970s with her breakout role as the stylish and clever secretary Jennifer Marlowe on “WKRP in Cincinnati.” Her mix of beauty and great comedic timing made her an instant hit, but her rise to fame didn’t happen overnight. Before she became the blonde bombshell known by millions, she had a simple upbringing in Saint Paul, Minnesota.
Born in 1945 to a chemist father, she had jet-black hair as a child. She studied art at the University of Minnesota, but her stunning looks helped her win spots in beauty pageants, even finishing as a runner-up in the Miss Minnesota contest in 1964.
Her early life was marked by challenges, including a marriage and divorce before she turned 21. She took on a teaching job to support herself and her daughter while finishing her college degree.
She grew interested in acting through local theater productions, performing in plays like “Fiddler on the Roof,” “Born Yesterday,” and “The Threepenny Opera.” Determined to pursue acting more seriously, she and her second husband, actor Ross Bickell, moved to Los Angeles in the mid-1970s.
After landing small roles in popular shows like “S.W.A.T.” and “The Bob Newhart Show,” her career began to grow. However, her choice to dye her hair blonde truly pushed her into the spotlight.
In 1978, she got her role on “WKRP in Cincinnati,” earning two Emmy nominations. While she was doing well professionally, her second marriage ended in 1981, partly due to the pressures of her rising fame.
Her success on “WKRP in Cincinnati” opened doors for more roles, leading her to portray real-life Hollywood figures like Jayne Mansfield in “The Jayne Mansfield Story” and Thelma Todd in “White Hot: The Mysterious Murder of Thelma Todd.”
Although she showed her dramatic skills, she was often seen as a glamorous Hollywood star. Still, her roles kept her popular and confirmed her status in the television industry.
In the early 1980s, she started a high-profile relationship with Burt Reynolds, one of Hollywood’s biggest stars. They were often seen on red carpets and magazine covers, becoming a glamorous couple. After dating for six years, they married in a small but public ceremony in 1988.
Their wedding took place at Reynolds’ Florida ranch and attracted much media attention, with helicopters overhead and paparazzi waiting outside.
Although their relationship looked perfect to the public, problems arose behind the scenes. Just five years after their wedding, Reynolds served her divorce papers.
Their separation became famous, with tabloids reporting accusations of infidelity, bad parenting, and financial issues. Reynolds claimed she maxed out his credit cards and said she had been unfaithful.
In 1995, she accused Reynolds of being violent. Their divorce was messy and took years to finalize, with their financial ties lingering for over two decades.
Despite the difficult end to their marriage, the actress later looked back on their relationship positively. In an interview after Reynolds died in 2018, she said they reconciled before he passed away.
“We were friends first and friends last. It’s time to move on,” she stated. Their adopted son, Quinton, played a key role in their eventual reconciliation.
“We have this wonderful child together. Having a son was a big event in our lives, and everything revolved around him,” she explained. Their son even brought them together one last time before Reynolds died.
In a final kind gesture, Reynolds took her out to dinner and brought her flowers. She cherished these memories, speaking fondly of her ex-husband’s gentle side.
While her tumultuous relationship with Reynolds was the focus of many headlines in the 1990s, the actress remained committed to her career. She continued to work in television, often appearing in sitcoms and TV movies, although her roles often reflected the glamorous image she built in the 1980s.
In 2008, at 62, she found love again, this time in a quieter setting. She married Bob Flick, a musician and founding member of The Brothers Four, a folk group.
Their relationship had deep roots, as they first met decades earlier at a movie premiere when her career was just beginning. After reconnecting later in life, they wed in a private ceremony attended by close family and friends, including her son.
This beloved figure in Hollywood is none other than Loni Anderson, now 79. Take a look at the actress’s transformation over the years as she embraced life in the spotlight.
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