How Carol Burnett Achieved a Net Worth of $45 Million

Carol Burnett is an actress, comedian, writer, and singer whose career began in 1955. Thanks to a successful career in the entertainment industry spanning seven decades, the actress has become a wealthy woman. Carol Burnett’s net worth is now $45 million, and here is an overview of how she has accrued this wealth throughout her career.

Her Early Life

Carol Burnett was born on April 26, 1933, in San Antonio, Texas. She showed a talent for acting at a young age, pretending to have a twin sister at school and learning the Tarzan call at the age of nine. Burnett’s mother would take her and her sister to the movies, and the films they saw later influenced Burnett’s sketches. In her late teens, Burnett spent some time working in a movie theater as an usherette. After she graduated from Hollywood High School, Burnett received an anonymous letter containing money for one year’s tuition at university. Burnett began studying journalism at UCLA but then switched to theater arts and English. She began performing in university productions, and her comedic and musical abilities were noted. While at university, a man saw her performance and was impressed. Burnett told him she wanted to move to New York to become an actress but couldn’t afford the move. The man instantly offered Burnett and her boyfriend a $1,000 interest-free loan each that they must pay back the loan in five years. He also said that if she made it in the entertainment industry, she must help other aspiring actors to achieve their dreams.

Her Early Career

When Burnett and her boyfriend first moved to New York, she struggled to land any acting jobs, so she worked in various roles just to make money. Along with other aspiring actresses living in the same boarding house, Burnett invited agents to a review they would perform together. It landed Burnett a small role in ‘The Paul Winchell and Jerry Mahoney Show’ in 1955 and then to her starring role in the sitcom ‘Stanley.’ After spending a few months unemployed, Burnett began performing in cabarets and clubs, often singing parody numbers. She performed one of her most popular parody songs on both ‘The Ed Sullivan Show’ and ‘The Tonight Show’ hosted by Jack Parr and later became a regular on both shows. However, Burnett spent most of the remainder of the 1950s and the early 1960s performing in stage productions, including Broadway shows, although she continued to appear in minor roles on television.

The Carol Burnett Show

The series for which Carol Burnett is best known is ‘The Carol Burnett Show’, and the series ran from 1967 to 1978. Originally, CBS offered her a one-hour weekly comedy show, but Burnett pushed for a musical/ comedy variety show instead. Burnett’s show was an instant success and remained popular throughout its 11 years on screen. She also won multiple awards for the series, including 23 Emmy Awards. In addition to showcasing new talents, Burnett performed in various ways throughout the series, including in sketches. One of her most famous characters from the sketches was a charlady. Throughout her time hosting the variety show, Burnett continued to appear in various television series. Although the series ended in 1978, four post-script episodes were later aired on ABC in 1979. Prior to the end of the series, Burnett and the production team began editing her various sketches, and these were later released in syndication as half-hour episodes called ‘Carol Burnett and Friends.’ A retrospective of ‘The Carol Burnett Show’ was aired in 2001 and included interviews with the cast and outtakes from the series.

Burnett’s Career After ‘The Carol Burnett Show’

After the end of ‘The Carol Burnett Show,’ Burnett’s career took a different turn, and she had roles in several films throughout the late 1970s, the 1980s, and the early 1990s. These included ‘Friendly Fire,’ ‘Life of the Party: The Story of Beatrice O’Reilly,’ ‘The Four Seasons,’ and ‘Noises Off.’ Burnett also famously played the role of Miss Hannigan in the musical film ‘Annie.’ Although Burnett most often appeared in front of the camera, she also took on some voice roles. Her first was in the 2001 film ‘The Trumpet of the Swan.’ Her other films for which she provided a voice include ‘Horton Hears ay Who!’ ‘The Secret World of Arrietty,’ and ‘Toy Story 4.’ From 2000 onwards, Carol Burnett has appeared in small or guest roles in various television series. Although she is still active in the entertainment industry, she has mostly stayed out of the limelight since 2010.

Other Ventures

In addition to her acting career, Carol Burnett has also worked as a singer and has released multiple albums. In total, she has released nine solo and duet albums. She has also contributed to the albums of other artists. Burnett also released her memoirs in four separate publications. Her first was ‘One More Time,’ which was published in 1986. Burnett and her oldest daughter co-wrote a play based on these memoirs. Burnett published ‘This Time Together’ in 2010, then ‘Carrie and Me’ in 2014, and ‘In Such Good Company’ in 2016. She also published the 1975 book ‘What I Want to Be When I Grow Up.’

Carol Burnett’s Net Worth

According to Cheat Sheet, Carol Burnett’s net worth is $45 million. She made her fortunes through her work as an actress and a television host.

Her Personal Life

In 1955, Carol Burnett married her college sweetheart, Don Saroyan. The couple, who did not have any children together, divorced in 1962. A year later, Burnett married Joe Hamilton, a television producer and a divorced father of eight children. Burnett and Hamilton had daughters Carrie, Jody, and Erin together before divorcing in 1984. Since 2001, Carol Burnett has been married to musician Brian Miller, who is 23 years younger than Burnett. Miller is the principal drummer for the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra.