Channing was born in Seattle, Washington on January 31, 1921, the only child of Adelaide (née Glaser; 1886–1984) and George Channing (1888–1957). Her father, who was born George Christian Stucker, was multiracial (African-American and Euro-American) and changed his surname due to religious reasons before Carol’s birth. He became a Christian Science practitioner, editor and teacher. George Channing’s mother, Clara, was African-American, and his father, George Stucker, was the son of German immigrants. Carol’s maternal grandparents, Otto Glaser and Paulina Ottmann, were both of German-Jewish origin. A city editor at The Seattle Star, he took a job in San Francisco and the family moved to California when Channing was two years old.

Channing attended Aptos Junior High School and Lowell High School in San Francisco, graduating in 1938. She won the Crusaders’ Oratorical Contest and a free trip to Hawaii with her mother in June 1937. When she was 17, she left home to attend Bennington College in Vermont and her mother told her for the first time that her father’s mother was African American and his father was German American. Her mother felt that the time was right to tell her since now that she was going off to college and would be on her own, she didn’t want her to be surprised if she ever had a black baby. Channing wrote:

Channing was married four times. Her first husband was Theodore Naidish, whom she married when she was 20 in 1941. He was a writer, who in 1944 wrote Watch Out for Willie Carter, but during the nearly five years of their marriage, earned little income: “There was no money for food, clothing or housing.” Still, Channing adored his émigré Jewish family, stating, in her memoir, “There is nothing so safe and secure as an immigrant, foreign-language-speaking family all around you. It was a dream come true for me. They look after you, you look after them. They make chick’n in the pot if you’re sick. You learn marvelous new-sounding words every minute.” Channing and Naidish lived near his grandparents in Brighton Beach in the borough of Brooklyn in New York City. She remembered his grandfather Sam Cohen introducing her to some of his neighborhood friends, who were amazed that she enjoyed hearing their funny stories. “They were delighted that I almost ate them up alive,” she wrote, “because they were so funny, especially since such appreciation was coming from what we all thought then was a shiksa (me).” She learned to speak fluent Yiddish from “Grandpa Cohen”, a skill which helped her understand the boardwalk conversations that went on around her in town.

In January 1950, Time magazine ran a cover story about her becoming a new star on Broadway, followed by cover stories in Life magazine in 1955 and 1964.

Her second husband Alexander F. Carson, known as Axe, or “The Murderous Ax”, played center for the Ottawa Rough Riders Canadian football team and was also a private detective. They married in 1950 and divorced in September 1956. They had one son named Channing Carson.

In 1956, Channing married her manager and publicist Charles Lowe. During the 1950s, he produced the Burns and Allen comedy show, which starred George Burns and Gracie Allen. When Allen was forced to discontinue performing due to her heart ailments, she saw that Burns was in need of a partner to play against on stage, since he was best as a straight man. She remembered that Channing, like her, had one of the most distinctive and recognizable voices in show business, and Lowe asked Channing if she would perform with Burns during his shows. She accepted immediately, and Channing worked on and off with Burns through the late 1950s. Burns also appeared in her TV special, An Evening with Carol Channing, in 1966.

In September 1956, “Immediately following the entry of the divorce decree” from Carson, Channing married her manager and publicist Charles Lowe. In 1960, Carson’s parental rights were severed due to his abandonment, and his and Channing’s son took his stepfather’s surname. As the judge stated, “The differences in environment and miles would result in a gross injustice in itself to the child, who at this very tender stage does not even know what his real father looks like. He probably doesn’t even realize that the present husband of Mrs. Channing is not his father.” Channing Lowe publishes his cartoons as Chan Lowe. Channing filed for divorce from Lowe in 1998, but her estranged husband died before the divorce was finalized.

In 1961, Channing became one of the few performers nominated for a Tony Award for work in a revue (rather than a traditional book musical); she was nominated for Best Actress in a Musical for the short-lived revue Show Girl.

Approval of her performance in the 1960s meant she was often invited to major events, including those at the White House, where she might sing. Channing was a registered Democrat and was invited to the Democratic convention in 1964 in Atlantic City, New Jersey where she sang “Hello, Lyndon” for Lyndon B. Johnson’s campaign. She was a favorite of Lady Bird Johnson, who once gave her a huge bouquet after a show.

The show had first opened on Broadway on January 16, 1964, and by the time the show closed in late December 1970, it had become the longest-running musical in Broadway history, with nearly 3,000 performances. Besides Channing, six other stars played the title role during those seven years: Ginger Rogers, Martha Raye, Betty Grable, Pearl Bailey, Phyllis Diller and Ethel Merman.

Her first job on stage in New York City was in Marc Blitzstein’s No for an Answer, starting January 1941, at the Mecca Temple (later New York City Center). She was 19 years old. Channing moved to Broadway for Let’s Face It!, in which she was an understudy for Eve Arden, who was 13 years older than Channing. In 1966, Arden was hired to play the title role in Hello Dolly! in a road company after Channing left to star in the film Thoroughly Modern Millie role. Channing won the Sarah Siddons Award for her work in Chicago’s theatres in 1966 (Eve Arden won the next year).

Due to her success on Broadway in Hello Dolly! and her co-starring role in Thoroughly Modern Millie, Channing attracted the attentions of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, who were interested in starring her in a sitcom. Directed and produced by Arnaz and written by Bob Carroll Jr. and Madelyn Davis (who co-wrote I Love Lucy and The Lucy Show), The Carol Channing Show starred Channing as Carol Hunnicut, a small-town girl trying and failing to make it in New York City show business. Character actors Richard Deacon and Jane Dulo were in the supporting cast. The pilot was filmed in front of a live audience (with a laugh track added) at Desilu in 1966, but did not sell as a series.

Channing reprised her role of Lorelei Lee when the musical Lorelei, directed by Robert Moore and choreographed by Ernest O. Flatt, premiered in 1973 at the Oklahoma City (6000 seat) Civic Center Music Hall and broke all box office records after six days’ worth of performances sold out within 24 hours.

To commemorate this record event, the street running in front of the Music Hall was renamed Channing Square Drive in her honor. Also in the cast were Peter Palmer, Brandon Maggart, Dody Goodman, and Lee Roy Reams. For nearly a year, the stage musical then toured 11 cities across the country. Lorelei had earned a hefty profit by the time it opened on Broadway at the Palace Theatre on January 27, 1974, and ran for a total of 320 performances. Channing also appeared in two New York City revivals of Hello, Dolly!, and toured with it extensively throughout the United States.

Channing had unique dietary habits. In 1978, she said she had not eaten restaurant food in 15 years, and preferred only organic food. When invited to restaurants, she would bring several sealed containers with her own food, such as zucchini or chopped celery, and simply ask for an empty plate and glass. For dessert, she would eat seeds. By 1995, Channing had resumed eating food served by restaurants. However, she would not drink alcoholic beverages of any sort. Channing was a survivor of ovarian cancer.

She performed songs from Hello, Dolly during a special television show in London in 1979.

During most of her career, Channing was asked to perform in various skits or appear as a guest on regular shows. In the 1960s, she was on The Andy Williams Show. In 1985, she played the role of the White Queen in the television special Alice in Wonderland. In 1986, Channing appeared on Sesame Street and sang a parody of the song “Hello, Dolly!” called “Hello, Sammy!”, a love song being sung by Carol to a character known as Sammy the Snake (as voiced by Muppets creator Jim Henson). Carol, in this parody segment, serenades Sammy telling him just how much she loves and adores him while Sammy coils himself around Carol’s arms. Carol’s song includes lyrics such as: “So..turn on your charm, Sammy/Coil yourself around my arm, Sammy/Sammy the Snake, I’ll stake a claim on you”. Songwriter Jule Styne, who wrote the score for Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, invited her on his television special in 1987 where she performed another one of her signature songs, “Little Girl from Little Rock”.

In 1993, she poked a little fun at herself in an episode of The Nanny. The episode “Smoke Gets in Your Lies” shows the producer auditioning for a new musical, and Channing, playing herself, is trying out. Just after the producer announces he wants a stage presence that is instantly recognizable to the entire country, Channing begins with her signature “Hello, Dolly!”, but he stops her with a resounding “Next!”.

Channing majored in drama at Bennington and during an interview in 1994 revealed that she first wanted to perform on stage as a singer when she was in the fourth grade. She recalled being emotionally drawn to the stage after seeing Ethel Waters perform.

Channing publicly revealed her African-American ancestry in 2002.

In January 2003, Channing recorded the audiobook of her best-selling autobiography Just Lucky, I Guess: A Memoir of Sorts, directed and produced by Steve Garrin at VideoActive Productions in New York City. It was during the recording sessions that she received a phone call from her childhood sweetheart Harry Kullijian that rekindled their romance and led to their marriage a few months later. In January 2011, the documentary Carol Channing: Larger Than Life (which chronicles Channing’s life and career) was released.

In 2003, while recording the audiobook of her autobiography Just Lucky, I Guess, at VideoActive Productions, NYC, produced and directed by Steve Garrin, she rekindled her romance with her junior high school sweetheart, Harry Kullijian, and they married on May 10, 2003. They later performed at their old junior high school in a benefit for the school. They also promoted arts education in California schools through their Dr. Carol Channing and Harry Kullijian Foundation. The couple resided in both Modesto, California and Rancho Mirage, California. Harry Kullijian died on December 26, 2011, the eve of his 92nd birthday. The recording of Carol’s autobiography has never been publicly released.

Al Hirschfeld’s illustration of her was printed on the front page of the “Sunday Theatre” section of The New York Times. She felt that this image captured the essence of her character, having posited in writing, “How did the great Hirschfeld know precisely what I was thinking? … To be Hirschfelded is an eerie experience. You better not have anything to hide, because he’ll expose it like a neon sign” … The illustration was also printed on the cover of magazines, including Horizon. She later appeared in the movie biography about his life, The Line King, in 2004.

Channing died from natural causes on January 15, 2019, at her home in Rancho Mirage, California at the age of 97, 16 days before her 98th birthday. On January 16, the lights on Broadway were dimmed in honor of Channing. A crowd congregated outside the St. James Theater, as it had also been the anniversary of the opening of the original Broadway production of Hello, Dolly!. Her ashes were sprinkled between the Curran Theatre and the Geary Theater in San Francisco.