Before I sat down with Carol Burnett at the Peninsula hotel in Beverly Hills, her assistant asked me to text over a photo of a negative Covid test. This would be a courtesy under normal interview circumstances, but Burnett was having a particularly big month and didn't want to throw a wrench into things by getting sick. She was up for an Emmy (for Outstanding Variety Special, for a show highlighting her long career; she won) and presenting one (for Lead Actress in a Comedy Series, which went to Quinta Brunson) and promoting a new TV show. In the upcoming Palm Royale, Kristen Wiig plays a social climber in 1960s Florida, and Burnett plays one of the many grandes dames trying to kick her back down the ladder.
My Covid test came up negative and I feel fine, but when I get to the suite I don't want to shake Burnett's hand, even when she greets me with her dazzling trademark smile. I can see the headline: "Living Legend Carol Burnett Gets Dangerous Germs From Idiot."
Did I mention Carol Burnett is 90?
I have a lot of questions about the simple fact that at this age, she is still starring in television shows and giving out Emmys and shaking hands with strangers for press purposes, starting with the obvious: Why?
"I want to have fun," she says with a shrug, sitting next to me on a cream couch and looking and sounding well rested, clear voiced, even peppy. "It's not like I have to be busy all the time!" The peppiness, it should be noted, is unflagging on all biographical fronts, recent and not, from the "hypochondriacal Christian Scientist" grandmother who raised her to whether she's dealt with ageism as a nonagenarian. ("Not from my own personal experiences, no!") You'd forgive someone for saying that this preternatural optimism seems almost at odds with the world we know, even though it's one that continues to contain Carol Burnett.
Denne historien er fra March 2024-utgaven av Harper's BAZAAR - US.
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Denne historien er fra March 2024-utgaven av Harper's BAZAAR - US.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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The STATES of REPRODUCTIVE Rights
The STORIES from a POST-RUE AMERICA are HARROWING and HARD TO BELIEVE. That's why we MUST LISTEN..
The Whole TORY
TWO DECADES in, TORY BURCH, the BRAND, is once again one of the most TALKED-ABOUT labels in FASHION because TORY BURCH, the WOMAN, did what she's ALWAYS DONE in times of uncertainty: BET on HERSELF.
The VANGUARDS
WHO DO YOU look up to when you're the one name-checked as the first, the best, the source of inspiration? That's the question everyone at the vanguard of things contemplates at one time or another.
Like NO OTHER
She BROKE BARRIERS and REWROTE the RULES. Fell DOWN, got back UP, and did it all in NINE-INCH HEELS. This is NAOMI CAMPBELL.
WHEN in ROME
REDISCOVER the ETERNAL CITY through a slew of NEW properties that OOZE SPREZZATURA
ICONS Only
What makes an OUTFIT live on in HISTORY? Which outfits CHANGED the way we THINK about GETTING DRESSED? Bazaar assembled a team of EXPERTS to determine the 25 MOST ICONIC LOOKS of all time.
The LEGACY of LIZ TILBERIS
In honor of OVARIAN CANCER Awareness Month, CHRIS TILBERIS recalls the work of his late mother, who ushered in a new GOLDEN AGE for Harper's Bazaar in the '90s while waging her own BATTLE with the disease.
NATASHA LYONNE, CARRIE COON, and ELIZABETH OLSEN on challenging AUDIENCES-and EXPECTATIONS-in Hollywood
There are actors, and then there actors-the type of performers who bring a life and vitality to each and every role, no matter how small or large, and routinely take on gutsy projects that inspire extraordinary devotion and passionate defenses.
THE PEOPLE and IDEAS SHAPING the CULTURE - CLOSE Encounters
In the first edition of his new column, THE DISPATCH, DEREK BLASBERG talks to GLENN CLOSE about LONGEVITY, OSCARS, and her most ICONIC roles—and why it's always important to DRESS the PART
What Are You Wearing?- Activist Amanda Nguyen on turning that question into a rallying cry for survivors of sexual assault everywhere
Activist Amanda Nguyen on turning that question into a rallying cry for survivors of sexual assault everywhere. Walking down the runway in a custom dress designed by artists Suzanne McClelland and Alix Pearlstein and adorned with the text of the Survivors' Bill of Rights, I was overwhelmed with a mix of emotions. Alongside me were other survivors and allies, while ambassadors from the United Nations, diplomats, policymakers, and influencers all came to watch.
