Carol Burnett on turning 90: 'I still feel like I'm about 11'

Comedy icon Carol Burnett is reflecting on her upcoming 90th birthday.

"I can't wrap my head around it," Burnett says in this week's issue of People magazine. "I still feel like I'm about 11, but I'm amazed. It sure went fast. But I'm glad because I've got all my parts — got my hips, I got my knees and I've got my brain, so I'm happy about that."

The Television Academy Hall of Famer and six-time Emmy Award winner for "The Carol Burnett Show" (CBS, 1967-78) and other projects, and the recipient of a Tony Award, the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor and other accolades, Burnett recalled the moment she wanted to pursue a comedy career.

"I never really thought about it until I got to UCLA and I was in an acting class," she told the magazine. "A lot of the kids at the class were doing heavy, dramatic stuff and I thought, I can't do that. So I picked something light and they laughed. That's when the bug bit."

Speaking ahead of the two-hour NBC special “Carol Burnett: 90 Years of Laughter + Love" that will air on her birthday, April 26, the star said she wanted her legacy to be that, "I made people laugh, made them feel good when they might have been down."

Many fan letters, she said, told her how "The Carol Burnett Show" "was the only time the family would get together, to watch and laugh. And that sometimes they were lonesome and were cheered up by our show. That's a good feeling."

She separately told Remind magazine of turning 90, "It’s hard to wrap my head around it, but considering the alternative, I am feeling great,” and that when shooting the special last month, “There were no balloons and cakes and confetti or any of that. I didn’t want it,” adding, “It was a roast. It was a variety show with live entertainment. We had a 19-piece orchestra!”

The special includes "Carol Burnett Show" cast member Vicki Lawrence and, Burnett told Remind, "We pay homage to [fellow troupe members] Harvey Korman and Tim Conway and Lyle Waggoner." Performing are Kristin Chenoweth, Jane Lynch, Katy Perry, Bernadette Peters and Billy Porter, and guests include Garden City's Susan Lucci as well as Julie Andrews, Steve Carell, Cher, Laura Dern, Ellen DeGeneres, Bill Hader, Amy Poehler, Aileen Quinn, Tracee Ellis Ross, Marisa Tomei, Lily Tomlin, Sofía Vergara and Kristen Wiig.

An accomplished dramatic actor as well, Burnett most recently played a recurring role on the final season of the psychological crime series "Better Call Saul." She is next slated to appear in the upcoming Apple TV+ comedy series "Palm Royale" (formerly "Mrs. American Pie").