Carol Burnett Is First Recipient of Golden Globes TV Lifetime Achievement Award Named in Her Honor

For years to come the Carol Burnett Award will have as much gravitas as the Cecil B. DeMille Award at the annual Golden Globes.

After the Hollywood Foreign Press Association announced last week that it was starting a new category to honor those who had reached a level of lifetime achievement in the medium of TV, it has now been announced just who that first recipient will be.

TV veteran Carol Burnett, 85, will be the inaugural honoree and the award will be named after her. The news was announced on Tuesday’s Today show before a press released was sent out by the HFPA.

In the statement, the HFPA says that the Carol Burnett Award will be “honoring the highest level of achievement in the medium” of television.

Burnett has won five Golden Globes and is the most decorated star in the television category. She’s had a lengthy career in the business and is perhaps best known for her variety show, The Carol Burnett Show, which ran from 1967 to 1978.

ET spoke with Burnett this past August about how she wants to be remembered. "She made me smile. She made me laugh when I was down," Burnett said of her legacy.

The 76th annual Golden Globe Awards will air Jan. 6 on NBC. In the meantime, here's more of ET's exclusive interview with Burnett:

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