Meet Carol Burnett's 3 Daughters

The following article mentions addiction struggles and mental health struggles.

Growing up with a once-in-a-generation comedic talent for a mom must have had its unique challenges. Entertainment icon Carol Burnett has been beloved by generations for her bright smile, quick wit, and undeniable talent. Her energy, voice, and laugh brought joy to homes across America as she dominated the television scene in the late '60s and '70s as the star of "The Carol Burnett Show." Although many fans might've felt as if Burnett was a member of their family, the groundbreaking comedian had her own family which she began before her major rise to fame.

Before Carol Burnett's current husband Brian Miller entered the picture, she walked down the aisle twice. After seven years of marriage to actor and college sweetheart Don Saroyan, she married her second husband, Joe Hamilton. Over the course of 22 years of marriage, Burnett and Joe Hamilton had three daughters: Carrie Hamilton, Jody Hamilton, and Kate Hamilton. As a mother, Burnett has experienced tragedy, triumph, heartbreak, and joy. Meet the three women who experienced it all with her.

Carrie Louise Hamilton was born to parents Carol Burnett and Joe Hamilton in December 1963 while they were living in New York City. Even before her mother reached the peak of her fame, Carrie was raised with a yearning for success. In her memoir "Carrie and Me," Burnett shared that Carrie was full of energy, wit, and ambition from an early age — evident in her exceptional performance in school both academically and socially. Her self-esteem in grammar school soared and she seemed poised to take on the world with the same enthusiasm and success as her mother.

However, despite her obvious talents, Carrie developed an increasing amount of insecurity — as many teenagers do. In her aforementioned book, Burnett shared that her oldest daughter expressed insecurities about her own looks when she entered junior high. Burnett recalled assuring Carrie that this awkward phase was just a phase, but Carrie insisted it wasn't. "That should have been a red flag for me, but I truly believed what I said to myself: 'It's simply a stage she's going through, that's all,'" Burnett wrote. 

As a teenager, Carrie Hamilton's insecurities began to affect her mental health. Over a three-year period that Carol Burnett would call "hell" in a 2016 interview with People, Hamilton started using drugs as a form of escape from the pressures that she felt. When Hamilton was just 15 years old, she spoke to People about her struggles with drugs. "I was always Carol Burnett's daughter. When I got high, I wasn't anymore. I wanted my own image," she said. This put an intense strain on her relationship with her mom. Eventually, Burnett decided that she needed to put her daughter in rehab — despite the fact that Hamilton hated her for it.

However, it was this very tough love that connected Carrie with the help she needed and she eventually was able to get sober. In the years after she found recovery, she was able to mend her relationship with her family and even began to speak about her experiences. On a 1988 episode of the talk show "Attitudes," Hamilton opened up about her sobriety journey and embracing this new chapter of life. "I just keep fighting. I keep finding new things, I think life is terrific. I keep finding new things to get into ... I can't get enough, and I'm having a great time," she said.

Carrie Hamilton was the first of her sisters to follow in Carol Burnett's footsteps and enter the entertainment industry. The comedian's charismatic oldest daughter began studying music and acting in Malibu at Pepperdine University. After honing her singing and acting abilities, Hamilton pursued her passion to great professional success, earning a regular role on the hit show "Fame" as well as appearing on the "X-Files," "Beverly Hills, 90210." She also starred in films such as "Tokyo Pop."

But Hamilton didn't just shine on the silver and small screens; she inherited her mother's stage talent as well. In 1996, she joined the first national tour of "Rent" as Maureen. It's a major part that requires a lot of heavy-lifting, and Hamilton was up for the challenge: Her performance won praise from theatergoers and critics alike.

Additionally, Hamilton explored her talent for writing through outlets such as the Namethkuf production company she and other artists founded and even engaged in creative collaboration with her mother. Together, the mother-daughter duo decided to adapt Burnett's memoir "One More Time" for the Broadway stage and turn it into a play called "Hollywood Arms." Finally, Hamilton dreamed of publishing an original story named "Sunrise in Memphis," although she never got the chance to finish the project.

Carrie Louise Hamilton was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2001 and began undergoing chemo and radiation therapy in Los Angeles. This diagnosis, which was already devastating, was given while Hamilton and Carol Burnett were in the middle of working on the script for "Hollywood Arms." Sadly, Hamilton did not get to see this project come to fruition. The singer and actor, who had also been a smoker for most of her life, spent a year in treatment before the cancer spread to her brain. She died at the age of 38 in January 2002.

The pain of losing her youngest child has stayed with Burnett. "I think of her every day," she said in People in 2018. "She never leaves me...I just feel her." "Hollywood Arms," became a way for Burnett to continue her daughter's legacy and grieve her loss in the days after her death. When the play finally premiered, Burnett experienced three signs that reminded her of her late daughter. As she told People, birds-of-paradise — Hamilton's favorite flower — were in her hotel room, Hamilton's middle name happened to be on the bottle of Champagne they drank that evening, and there was rain the night "Hollywood Arms" premiered. "Carrie and I were nuts for the rain," she said. 

In early 1967, Carol Burnett and then-husband Joe Hamilton's little family expanded when their second daughter, Jody Hamilton, was born. Just eight months after Jody was born in Los Angeles, "The Carol Burnett Show" premiered. Despite the instant success of the variety show, Burnett and Joe (who worked as a producer on "The Carol Burnett Show") made it their mission to spend as much time as they could with their young daughters. 

In her memoir "Carrie & Me," Burnett described how Jody and her sisters were not always well-behaved as children. "They would argue with one another, or not want to eat what they had ordered or (on occasion) open their mouths flashing unswallowed food to crack one another up, or fall asleep at the table in spite of the early hour," Burnett wrote. Evidently, that all changed when the TV icon decided to turn her room into a salon. As Burnett recalled, her girls were on their best behavior as she did their hair and helped them put together outfits. "All through dinner they acted like perfect little ladies," she wrote.

As Jody grew up, her youthful mischievousness turned into a drive to succeed. In a 1988 interview with the Chicago Tribune, Burnett described her middle daughter as "very highly motivated." Even though she had experienced the turmoil of her parents' divorce and her older sister's issues with addiction, Jody seems to have remained sure of herself and her passions.

Unlike her mother and older sister Carrie Hamilton, Jody Hamilton was more interested in a career behind the scenes rather than in front of the camera. She followed in the footsteps of her father, the producer Joe Hamilton, when she studied for and obtained a degree in Entertainment Management at the University of the Pacific. When Jody was in her final semester, mom Carol Burnett told the Chicago Tribune, "I have a feeling she's going to start to get work." This prediction would end up coming true.

During her career as a film and TV producer, Jody produced projects with her and her sister's film company, Namethkuf, as well as the 2001 retrospective special "Carol Burnett: Show Stoppers," which was nominated for three Emmy awards. In 2009, Jody jumped into the audio world when she became a producer and co-host of "From the Bunker." The final episode of the politics and pop culture podcast was released in 2023. In recent years, Jody has worked as a show runner for "The Stephanie Miller Show."

Although Jody Hamilton isn't herself a musician like her mother and sisters, she still has music in her life through her husband, Lonny Paul. A rock and roll singer, Paul has appeared in bands such as Adler, Heart Throb Mob, and Tilterworld. However, rock and roll music wasn't always Paul's area of expertise. He studied at the Art Institute of Houston and California Art Institute and is a self-described cartoonist. In 2022, Paul branched out into the film scene when he directed two short cartoons, "Burples" and "Thing Bats."

The pair married in 2015 though they have been together since 2000. They now live together in Los Angeles where they enjoy vintage cars and have adopted several cats. Hamilton is a fierce supporter of Paul's music career and can often be seen with him at events and concerts sporting her own rock and roll look.

Erin Kate Hamilton was born to Carol Burnett and Joe Hamilton in August 1968. Growing up with sisters Carrie and Jody Hamilton in Los Angeles, it was clear from a young age that she was drawn to singing and music. During tapings of "The Carol Burnett Show," she would sit in the orchestra pit with the show's conductor and she attended her very first concert — a Led Zeppelin show — when she was 5 years old. She grew up to attend Vermont's Bennington College in pursuit of her passion — though she never finished her education. Instead, she traveled around America as she followed the Grateful Dead for six years.  

Unsurprisingly, Erin decided to become a professional singer herself. In 1998, she got her first taste of success when she released a dance-pop cover of the song "Dream Weaver." Her affinity for dance music was especially well-received in the LGBTQ+ community of the time. In 1999, she released her first album as a solo artist, "One World." She also opened for stars such as Bette Midler and Whitney Houston, just to name a few — quite a transformation from her early days singing with blues and jazz bands. 

Carol Burnett's youngest daughter, Erin Hamilton, looked up to her older sister Carrie Hamilton in many ways. A decade after Carrie died from lung cancer, Erin reflected on her sister's memory in a 2012 interview with Steven Houseman. "She was very, very talented," she said. "My relationship with her was awesome. She was an amazing woman and she's with me all the time." Although they weren't particularly close growing up in part due to Carrie's struggles with addiction, the two sisters established a tight bond when they grew up. They found solidarity in each other through the shared experience of living as professional entertainers in L.A. as well as a love for music and writing.

Erin was greatly affected by Carrie's cancer diagnosis. "I had a really hard time visiting her in the hospital," Erin told Steven Houseman. "It was hard for me to see her the way that she was." When Carrie died in January 2002, Erin was at her side singing Lucinda Williams. 

In May 2001, Erin's girlfriend at the time, Tanya Sanchez, died. Erin grappled with the guilt of not being there. "A small part of me feels like [Carrie] gave me those last moments because I wasn't there for Tanya's last moments," she said.

Unfortunately, addiction has also affected Carol Burnett's youngest daughter. Erin Hamilton's struggle with substance misuse and addiction led her to seek rehab at least eight times in her life. In August 2020, Burnett and Brian Miller to file for temporary guardianship of Hamilton's son, Dylan.

Just two weeks after Burnett and Miller claimed that Hamilton's addiction had affected the stability of Dylan's upbringing, Burnett and Miller were given temporary guardianship. Burnett told People, "Guardianship will be for oversight purposes concerning his health, education and welfare" before adding that she had no intent to keep her daughter and grandson apart. In 2023, Hamilton claimed to have gotten sober and seems to be making an effort to heal her complicated relationships with her son and her mom. 

Burnett is sadly no stranger to seeing a family member deal with addiction. Her parents struggled with alcoholism, and she and her sister were sent to live with their grandmother in Los Angeles. While her upbringing was anything but glamorous, she went on to make her Hollywood dream come true. Carol Burnett's stunning transformation into the beloved comedian and caring mother has been one characterized by strength, humor, and an intense love for her three daughters.  

If you or anyone you know needs help with addiction issues or mental health, contact the relevant resources below:

• Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or call SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).
• Reach the Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741741, call the National Alliance on Mental Illness helpline at 1-800-950-NAMI (6264), or visit the National Institute of Mental Health website.