Carol Burnett is really something else. She's served as a living, breathing definition of comedy for anybody who knows anything about what it means to be funny. She's won numerous Golden Globes, Emmy Awards and Tony Awards, and already she's been loudly cheered with lifetime achievement awards, still going strong with a brand new TV show and touring live to rave reviews and sold-out crowds. She is a true wonder. 

So it's no wonder they just keep finding new reasons to celebrate her. Most recently, Broadway World announced that Carol Burnett was voted winner of the first-ever Ladies of Laughter Spirit Award. This is a special award for a hugely compelling reason: It was decided by today's best female stand-up comedians, who voted for Carol for being a powerful role model, as the contest stipulated: "an exceptionally successful woman in comedy who inspired you to be a stand up comedian." It's a declaration that it's thanks to Carol that so many women found a comedy hero worth worshipping.

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There's no denying the massive influence Burnett has had on comedy since warming hearts in the '60s and '70s with her hilarious variety show Carol Burnett and Friends. It takes two seconds into any scene for audiences to crack up, whether Carol is striking a pose in a sketch mocking Hollywood glamour, or chewing a pencil as an absent-minded secretary. Her show remains untouched in its charm, and for that reason, you can expect the awards to keep on coming for Carol Burnett, whose singular sense of humor is rightly considered by many adoring fans to be a national treasure.