Carol Burnett transparently shared an emotional memory of her late daughter Carrie Hamilton, who passed away at 38 from lung cancer.
The actress recalled to Interview Magazine: "Carrie, my daughter, when she was ill and in the hospital for the last time, the nurse stopped me in the hall and she said, 'I've got to talk to you about her. I walk into her room in the morning and she's smiling.'"
Carol wanted to better understand Carrie's positive outlook despite battling the disease.
© Getty ImagesShe shared: "And I said, 'Carrie, how can you always be so happy?' She was dying. And she said, 'Every day, I wake up and decide'—and this is a key word—'that today I'm going to love my life.'"
The entertainer explained that it was her daughter's refreshing mindset that deeply inspired her to look at tragedies and obstacles differently moving forward.
Carol added: "That was her mantra: 'Today, I'm just going to decide to love my life.' So it's the same idea about happiness…Maybe if we repeat it often enough, it'll sink in."
© Getty ImagesCarrie took after her mother and at eight years old, had her first comedic debut with her original skit during Carol's popular variety series. She got a standing ovation and the episode became the highest-rated one for that season.
Carol had her breakthrough thanks to The Carol Burnett Show in 1967, but she admitted that her children, especially Carrie, weren't a big fan of it.
She explained to Interview Magazine: "My oldest is quite a critic. My feeling is they ought to get kids up to the networks and have them watch things for their age group. Kids are so honest. They really tell it like it is."
© Getty ImagesDuring Carrie's tumultuous teenage years, she began abusing substances and attended rehab three times.
Carrie candidly revealed to People in 1979, that she was in desperate search for a form of escape from her public life.
She shared: "I was always Carol Burnett's daughter. When I got high, I wasn't anymore. I wanted my own image."
© Getty ImagesCarol transparently recalled to People in 2016: "I'm happy to say she got off drugs, but during those three years it was hell. At one point I had to throw her into a rehab place before she was 18 and she hated me. She totally hated what I was doing to her."
After Carrie successfully got clean, she studied at Pepperdine University and appeared in movies Fame and Tokyo Pop. She was also a member of the band Big Business.
Carol shared three daughters in total with her ex-husband Joe Hamilton, including Erin and Jody Hamilton . Carrie passed away in 2002.
