Carol Burnett’s Children and Grandchildren

Carol Burnett has three children and two grandchildren. Her kids are all girls named Carrie, Erin, and Jody, whom she had with her second husband, Joe Hamilton. She is also a grandmother of two boys – Zachary and Dylan – who are the sons of her third daughter, Erin. 

Carol is not just a super-talented figure in the television industry; she’s also a “supermom” and one who puts family above all else. She has demonstrated this through her commitment to her girls, especially when it comes to them finding their own paths, as she didn’t quite have that privilege.

Does Carol Burnett Have Children?

Carol Burnett has children. She welcomed them with her second husband, Joe Hamilton. Her first marriage to her college boyfriend, Don Saroyan, which started during their years at UCLA in 1954, produced no children.

Despite being in love and on the same path to stardom, it didn’t work out between Carol and Don. However, the actress didn’t disclose any information on why she had broken up with her first husband, a relationship that ended in 1962.

Her second engagement to Joe, a director and producer, began in 1963. The two went on to have kids who grew up to take after their parents. However, it seems the kids share a closer bond with their mother than they do with their father, owing to Carol’s indelible influence. Sadly, the couple decided it was time to call off their marriage in 1984, after which Joe died in 1991.

The sad demise of her first child, Carrie, in 2002 broke Carol in more ways than she could bear, stripping her of the joys of having her children complete by her side. Carol didn’t give birth to any children after those three, only extending her role as a parent to the sons of her second, Erin Hamilton.

How Many Children Does Carol Burnett Have?

Carol Burnett has three children, all of them girls. And she has proven to be more than her girls could bargain for. It wasn’t a bed of roses for Carol or a family that could appeal to the usual standards of society, being a celebrity and a role model to many. 

Carol’s family had its ups and downs; her children were far from perfect, but with their determination and Carol’s love for them, they were able to come out of it even better.

Carol’s elder daughter experienced the most daunting childhood moments; she wasn’t an easy egg to crack, Carol had admitted. Carrie became a drug addict by the age of 14 and was thrown into rehab by her mother four times. Carol stated that her daughter hated her for that; she didn’t want to speak to her again, but that was what she had to do to save her precious girl.

She had said during an interview, “You have to love your children enough for them to hate you,” and that was what she did. Carrie grew up to be Carol’s closest, going on to make a television play with her alongside her two girls, Erin and Jody. Her remarkable presence in her daughters’ lives shaped how they turned out, and Carol has been proud of them ever since.

Who are Carol Burnett’s Children, and How Old Are They Now?

The names of Carol Burnett’s daughters are Carrie Hamilton, Erin Hamilton, and Jody Hamilton. She had them for Joe Hamilton, a director and producer popularly known for his work on The Carol Burnett Show (1967) and Julie and Carol at Lincoln Center (1971).

1. Carrie ‘Louise’ Hamilton

• Date of Birth: December 5, 1963
• Date of Death: January 20, 2002
• Occupation: Actress and Singer

Carrie Hamilton was Carol and Joe’s oldest child. She was born in New York City on December 5, 1963, the same year her parents married. She attended high school in the same city and later graduated from Peppermint University.

Carrie took up a career as an actress and writer and has taken up roles in shows like Fame and movies like Tokyo Pop. She also belonged to the music band Big Business, where she had a rather successful music run before quitting the band to concentrate more on her screenplays.

News about Carrie’s drug addiction spread fast across the country, as she was stated to be quite a stubborn child. This hampered the relationship between mother and daughter, stifling the connection the star wanted to create between them. Later on, after recurrent visits to a rehab center, Carrie returned to her mother and reconciled with her, after which the two became extremely close.

However, Carrie died of pneumonia, a complication of the lung and brain cancer she suffered from, in 2002, at the age of 38. This prevented her from seeing the play she collaborated with her mother on, called Hollywood Arms, which was based on her mother’s 1986 memoir, One More Time.

2. Jody Hamilton

• Date of Birth: January 18, 1967
• Age: 57 years old
• Occupation: Film producer and Occasional actress

Carol and Joe’s second child was born in Los Angeles on January 8, 1967, and her upbringing wasn’t different from her older sibling, Carrie. She had told People magazine how her parents supported them in finding who they were and what they were capable of. She said her parents wanted her and her sisters “to go through whatever we had to go through to find who we are.”

Jody was interested in movie and television production, much like her father. She has carved a career in the industry and co-produced a string of films like Carol Burnett: Show Stoppers, which gained massive viewership. She also took up a role in Genesis: The Future of Mankind is Woman. She is also a podcaster and a wife to Lonny Paul, whom she married in September 2018.

3. Erin Kate Hamilton

• Date of Birth: August 14, 1968
• Age: 55 years old
• Occupation: Singer

Erin was born on August 14, 1968, in Los Angeles, and unlike her sisters, she chose music as her passion and career path, making waves as the artist she was and paving the way for new singers like herself.

After completing high school, Erin enrolled at Bennington College, Vermont, but dropped out of college to pursue her music ambitions. She later joined a musical band called the Grateful Dead, touring with them around the country. However, Erin dreamt of more and soon left the band to fly solo as an artist.

In 1999, her album One World was created, giving her a feel, for the first time, of what Fame tasted like. Since then, Erin has yet to release any other musical work, as she has been quiet with her life ever since.

She is currently a mother of two, whom she bore to her ex-husband, Trae Carlson, and her second husband, Kurt West. Both of her children’s names are Zachary Carlson and Dylan West.

How Many Grandchildren Does Carol Burnett Have?

Carol has two grandchildren, both from Erin Hamilton, her last child. She is the only one among Carol’s children who had kids.

Erin’s first child is Zachary Carlson, the son of a musician father named Trae. In contrast, her second son is Dylan West, who has been moved to go live with his grandparents after it was discovered that his mother was suffering from substance abuse and addiction. This was made known in August 2020, when Carol and her husband filed for guardianship over the then 14-year-old Dylan.