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| DIA DIPASUPIL/GETTY IMAGES) |
O'Donnell made her feature film debut in A League of Their Own (1992) alongside Tom Hanks, Geena Davis, and Madonna. Throughout her career, she has taken on an eclectic range of roles: she appeared in Sleepless in Seattle as Meg Ryan's character's best friend; as Betty Rubble in the live-action film adaptation of The Flintstones with John Goodman, Elizabeth Perkins and Rick Moranis; as one of Timothy Hutton's co-stars in Beautiful Girls; as a federal agent comedically paired with Dan Aykroyd in Exit to Eden; and as a baseball-loving nun in M. Night Shyamalan's Wide Awake.
She hosted The Rosie O'Donnell Show from 1996 to 2002, which won multiple Emmy Awards. During this time, she wrote her first memoir, Find Me, and developed the nickname "Queen of Nice," as well as a reputation for philanthropic efforts. With New York City as the show's home base, O'Donnell displayed her love of Broadway musicals and plays by having cast members as guests, encouraging the audience to see shows, premiering production numbers as well as promoting shows with ticket giveaways.
In September 2006, O'Donnell replaced Meredith Vieira as a co-host and moderator of The View, a daytime women-oriented talk show. O'Donnell is credited with keeping the show's "buzz factor up." Despite an overall downward trend for most daytime broadcast shows, ratings rose by 27 percent during O'Donnell's first year on the show.
In response, Trump began a "vicious" mass media blitz in which he appeared on various television shows, either in person or by phone, threatening to sue O'Donnell (he never did). He called her names, threatened to take away her partner Kelli, and claimed that Barbara Walters regretted hiring her. Walters was stuck in the middle as a social acquaintance of Trump's, and said O'Donnell didn't feel like Walters defended her enough, which led to what both women agreed was an unfortunate confrontation in one of the dressing rooms. "I had pain and hurt and rejection," O'Donnell said, "sometimes [my emotions] overwhelm me. Sometimes I get flooded." Walters denied that she was unhappy with O'Donnell, saying, "I have never regretted, nor do I now, the hiring of Rosie O'Donnell."
On April 25, 2007, ABC announced that O'Donnell would be leaving the show before the end of the year because of a failure to reach agreement on a new contract.
On May 17, 2007, during another Iraq war discussion, O'Donnell rhetorically asked, "655,000 Iraqi civilians dead. Who are the terrorists? ... if you were in Iraq and another country, the United States, the richest in the world, invaded your country and killed 655,000 of your citizens, what would you call us?" Conservative commentators criticized O'Donnell's statements, saying that she was comparing American soldiers to terrorists. On May 23, 2007, a heated discussion ensued, in part, because of what O'Donnell perceived as Elisabeth Hasselbeck's unwillingness to defend O'Donnell from the criticisms; O'Donnell asked Hasselbeck, "Do you believe I think our troops are terrorists?" Hasselbeck answered in the negative but also stated "Defend your own insinuations."
O'Donnell was hurt and felt Hasselbeck had betrayed her friendship: "there's something about somebody being different on TV toward you than they are in the dressing room. It didn't really ring true for me." O'Donnell stated that Republican pundits were mischaracterising her statements and the right-wing media would portray her as a bully, attacking "innocent pure Christian Elisabeth" whenever they disagreed. O'Donnell decided to leave the show that day, but afterwards stated that the reason was not the argument itself, but rather the fact that she saw on the studio monitor that the camera had shown a split screen, with her and Hasselbeck on either side. O'Donnell felt that the show's director and producer "had to prepare that in advance [...] I felt there was setup egging me into that position. The executive producer and I did not gel." O'Donnell and ABC agreed to cut short her contract agreement on May 25, 2007. ABC News reported that her arguments with Hasselbeck brought the show its best ratings ever.
In May 2007, Time magazine included O'Donnell in their annual list of the 100 most influential people.
In March 2007, O'Donnell started a video blog, Jahero, on her website Rosie.com answering fans questions, giving behind the scenes information and serving as a video diary. Originally featuring only O'Donnell and her hair and make-up artist, Helene Macaulay, they were soon joined by her writer from The Rosie O'Donnell Show, Janette Barber. O'Donnell won the "best celebrity blogger" category in the 2007 Blogger's Choice Awards.
In November 2009 ,"Rosie Radio," a daily 2-hour show with O'Donnell discussing news and events on Sirius XM Radio, premiered. O'Donnell said she was approached by the company after she appeared on Howard Stern's Sirius XM show. The radio show ended in June 2011.
In 2011, O'Donnell began producing material for the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN). In May 2011, The Doc Club with Rosie O'Donnell premiered, a show where O'Donnell moderates live panel discussions following premieres of OWN Documentaries. She has hosted specials for Becoming Chaz in May 2011 and Miss Representation in October 2011.
In fall 2011, O'Donnell began full-time work on her new show, The Rosie Show, for OWN. The show taped at the Chicago studio formerly home to The Oprah Winfrey Show. The show debuted on October 10, 2011, to generally positive reviews. However, OWN canceled The Rosie Show on March 16, 2012.
In 2014, O'Donnell landed a reoccurring role as Rita Hendricks on The Fosters, "a tough yet compassionate woman who works for the foster care system and becomes a mentor to a member of the Foster family." The character lasted through their 2016 season.
In the fall of 2014, O'Donnell returned to The View as a co-host, with a newly re-vamped version of the show, along with Whoopi Goldberg returning as moderator and new co-hosts Rosie Perez and Nicolle Wallace. On February 6, 2015, representatives for O'Donnell confirmed she would once again exit the panel, citing her reasons as a "personal decision."
In 2015, O'Donnell made a cameo in Pitch Perfect 2, playing a co-host on The View. That same year, she appeared in an episode Empire, playing Pepper O'Leary, "a tough criminal who shared a cell for years with Cookie Lyon." O'Donnell also appeared as herself in two documentaries that same year. Most recently, she plays the mom, Tutu, in the Showtime series SMILF.
O'Donnell is also a best selling author. In April 2002, O'Donnell released Find Me, a combination of memoir, mystery and detective story with an underlying interest in reuniting birth mothers with their children. In addition to cataloging her childhood and early adulthood, the book delved into O'Donnell's relationship with a woman with multiple personality disorder who posed as an under-aged teen who had become pregnant by rape. The book reached number two on The New York Times bestseller list.
In October 2007, she released Celebrity Detox, her second memoir which focuses on the struggles with leaving fame behind, noting her exits from The Rosie O'Donnell Show and The View.
In late 2003, O'Donnell brought the musical Taboo to Broadway. She hired Charles Busch to re-write the book, and the story became "bitchier" and more focused on the rise to fame of the character based on Boy George. It closed on February 8, 2004, after about 100 performances and "mostly bad" reviews. O'Donnell described the show's production as "by far the most fulfilling experience of my career."
Over her career, O'Donnell has developed a reputation for raising funds and her own philanthropy to charitable causes. In May 1996, Warner Books advanced O'Donnell $3 million to write a memoir. She used the money to seed her For All Kids Foundation to help institute national standards for day care across the country.
Since 1997, Rosie's For All Kids Foundation, overseen by Elizabeth Birch, has awarded more than $22 million in Early Childhood Care and Education program grants to more than 900 nonprofit organizations. On October 30, 2006, she was honored by the New York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children. In November 2006, Nightline aired a video report about the opening of The Children's Plaza and Family Center in Renaissance Village, a FEMA trailer park in Louisiana. This was an emergency response initiative of Rosie's For All Kids Foundation with the help of many local nonprofit organizations and for-profit businesses, all efforts were to assist the families displaced by Hurricane Katrina.
Coming Out
In her January 31, 2002, appearance on the sitcom Will & Grace, she played a lesbian mom. A month later as part of her act at the Ovarian Cancer Research benefit at Caroline's Comedy Club, O'Donnell came out as a lesbian, announcing "I'm a dyke!" "I don't know why people make such a big deal about the gay thing. ... People are confused, they're shocked like this is a big revelation to somebody." The announcement came 2 months before the end of the hosting of her talk show. Although she also cited the need to put a face to gays and lesbians, her primary reason was to bring attention to the gay adoption issue. O'Donnell is a foster and adoptive mother. She protested against adoption agencies, particularly in Florida, that refused adoptive rights to gay and lesbian parents.
Diane Sawyer interviewed O'Donnell in a March 14, 2002, episode of PrimeTime Thursday. O'Donnell told USA Today that she chose to talk to Sawyer because she wanted an investigative piece on Florida's ban on gay adoption. She told Sawyer if that was done, "I would like to talk about my life and how (the case) pertains to me." She spoke about the two gay men in Florida who faced having a foster child they raised removed from their home. State law wouldn't let them adopt because Florida banned gay or bisexual people from adopting.
After the September 11, 2001 attacks, Broadway and tourism in New York City was down and many shows were in danger of closing. O'Donnell was among many in the entertainment field who encouraged viewers to visit and support the performing arts. She announced that she would donate 1 million dollars for aid in the rescue efforts and encouraged other celebrities and citizens alike to "give till it hurts."
In September 2006, O'Donnell replaced Meredith Vieira as a co-host and moderator of The View, a daytime women-oriented talk show. O'Donnell is credited with keeping the show's "buzz factor up." Despite an overall downward trend for most daytime broadcast shows, ratings rose by 27 percent during O'Donnell's first year on the show.
O'Donnell moderated the opening "Hot Topics" portion of the show, where news items were discussed. O'Donnell gave the show a more political slant, and she and fellow comic Joy Behar often gave strong opinions against former President Bush's domestic and foreign policies, including the Iraq War. As a conservative counterpoint, Elisabeth Hasselbeck would usually support the Bush administration's policies and the two would get into an adversarial give-and-take.
In December 2006, O'Donnell criticized Donald Trump for holding a press conference to reinstate Miss USA Tara Conner, who had violated pageant guidelines, accusing him of using her scandal to "generate publicity for the Miss USA Pageant" (to which he owns the rights) by announcing he was giving her a second chance. O'Donnell commented that due to Trump's multiple marital affairs and questionable business bankruptcies, he was not a moral authority for young people in America. She stated, "Left the first wife, had an affair. Left the second wife, had an affair – but he's the moral compass for 20-year-olds in America."
In December 2006, O'Donnell criticized Donald Trump for holding a press conference to reinstate Miss USA Tara Conner, who had violated pageant guidelines, accusing him of using her scandal to "generate publicity for the Miss USA Pageant" (to which he owns the rights) by announcing he was giving her a second chance. O'Donnell commented that due to Trump's multiple marital affairs and questionable business bankruptcies, he was not a moral authority for young people in America. She stated, "Left the first wife, had an affair. Left the second wife, had an affair – but he's the moral compass for 20-year-olds in America."
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| O'Donnell sells anti-Trump art to raise money for his political opponents. |
On April 25, 2007, ABC announced that O'Donnell would be leaving the show before the end of the year because of a failure to reach agreement on a new contract.
On May 17, 2007, during another Iraq war discussion, O'Donnell rhetorically asked, "655,000 Iraqi civilians dead. Who are the terrorists? ... if you were in Iraq and another country, the United States, the richest in the world, invaded your country and killed 655,000 of your citizens, what would you call us?" Conservative commentators criticized O'Donnell's statements, saying that she was comparing American soldiers to terrorists. On May 23, 2007, a heated discussion ensued, in part, because of what O'Donnell perceived as Elisabeth Hasselbeck's unwillingness to defend O'Donnell from the criticisms; O'Donnell asked Hasselbeck, "Do you believe I think our troops are terrorists?" Hasselbeck answered in the negative but also stated "Defend your own insinuations."
O'Donnell was hurt and felt Hasselbeck had betrayed her friendship: "there's something about somebody being different on TV toward you than they are in the dressing room. It didn't really ring true for me." O'Donnell stated that Republican pundits were mischaracterising her statements and the right-wing media would portray her as a bully, attacking "innocent pure Christian Elisabeth" whenever they disagreed. O'Donnell decided to leave the show that day, but afterwards stated that the reason was not the argument itself, but rather the fact that she saw on the studio monitor that the camera had shown a split screen, with her and Hasselbeck on either side. O'Donnell felt that the show's director and producer "had to prepare that in advance [...] I felt there was setup egging me into that position. The executive producer and I did not gel." O'Donnell and ABC agreed to cut short her contract agreement on May 25, 2007. ABC News reported that her arguments with Hasselbeck brought the show its best ratings ever.
In May 2007, Time magazine included O'Donnell in their annual list of the 100 most influential people.
In March 2007, O'Donnell started a video blog, Jahero, on her website Rosie.com answering fans questions, giving behind the scenes information and serving as a video diary. Originally featuring only O'Donnell and her hair and make-up artist, Helene Macaulay, they were soon joined by her writer from The Rosie O'Donnell Show, Janette Barber. O'Donnell won the "best celebrity blogger" category in the 2007 Blogger's Choice Awards.
In November 2009 ,"Rosie Radio," a daily 2-hour show with O'Donnell discussing news and events on Sirius XM Radio, premiered. O'Donnell said she was approached by the company after she appeared on Howard Stern's Sirius XM show. The radio show ended in June 2011.
In 2011, O'Donnell began producing material for the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN). In May 2011, The Doc Club with Rosie O'Donnell premiered, a show where O'Donnell moderates live panel discussions following premieres of OWN Documentaries. She has hosted specials for Becoming Chaz in May 2011 and Miss Representation in October 2011.
In fall 2011, O'Donnell began full-time work on her new show, The Rosie Show, for OWN. The show taped at the Chicago studio formerly home to The Oprah Winfrey Show. The show debuted on October 10, 2011, to generally positive reviews. However, OWN canceled The Rosie Show on March 16, 2012.
In 2014, O'Donnell landed a reoccurring role as Rita Hendricks on The Fosters, "a tough yet compassionate woman who works for the foster care system and becomes a mentor to a member of the Foster family." The character lasted through their 2016 season.
In the fall of 2014, O'Donnell returned to The View as a co-host, with a newly re-vamped version of the show, along with Whoopi Goldberg returning as moderator and new co-hosts Rosie Perez and Nicolle Wallace. On February 6, 2015, representatives for O'Donnell confirmed she would once again exit the panel, citing her reasons as a "personal decision."
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| O'Donnell as Tutu in the Showtime series, SMILF |
O'Donnell is also a best selling author. In April 2002, O'Donnell released Find Me, a combination of memoir, mystery and detective story with an underlying interest in reuniting birth mothers with their children. In addition to cataloging her childhood and early adulthood, the book delved into O'Donnell's relationship with a woman with multiple personality disorder who posed as an under-aged teen who had become pregnant by rape. The book reached number two on The New York Times bestseller list.
In October 2007, she released Celebrity Detox, her second memoir which focuses on the struggles with leaving fame behind, noting her exits from The Rosie O'Donnell Show and The View.
In late 2003, O'Donnell brought the musical Taboo to Broadway. She hired Charles Busch to re-write the book, and the story became "bitchier" and more focused on the rise to fame of the character based on Boy George. It closed on February 8, 2004, after about 100 performances and "mostly bad" reviews. O'Donnell described the show's production as "by far the most fulfilling experience of my career."
Over her career, O'Donnell has developed a reputation for raising funds and her own philanthropy to charitable causes. In May 1996, Warner Books advanced O'Donnell $3 million to write a memoir. She used the money to seed her For All Kids Foundation to help institute national standards for day care across the country.
Since 1997, Rosie's For All Kids Foundation, overseen by Elizabeth Birch, has awarded more than $22 million in Early Childhood Care and Education program grants to more than 900 nonprofit organizations. On October 30, 2006, she was honored by the New York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children. In November 2006, Nightline aired a video report about the opening of The Children's Plaza and Family Center in Renaissance Village, a FEMA trailer park in Louisiana. This was an emergency response initiative of Rosie's For All Kids Foundation with the help of many local nonprofit organizations and for-profit businesses, all efforts were to assist the families displaced by Hurricane Katrina.
Coming Out
In her January 31, 2002, appearance on the sitcom Will & Grace, she played a lesbian mom. A month later as part of her act at the Ovarian Cancer Research benefit at Caroline's Comedy Club, O'Donnell came out as a lesbian, announcing "I'm a dyke!" "I don't know why people make such a big deal about the gay thing. ... People are confused, they're shocked like this is a big revelation to somebody." The announcement came 2 months before the end of the hosting of her talk show. Although she also cited the need to put a face to gays and lesbians, her primary reason was to bring attention to the gay adoption issue. O'Donnell is a foster and adoptive mother. She protested against adoption agencies, particularly in Florida, that refused adoptive rights to gay and lesbian parents.
Diane Sawyer interviewed O'Donnell in a March 14, 2002, episode of PrimeTime Thursday. O'Donnell told USA Today that she chose to talk to Sawyer because she wanted an investigative piece on Florida's ban on gay adoption. She told Sawyer if that was done, "I would like to talk about my life and how (the case) pertains to me." She spoke about the two gay men in Florida who faced having a foster child they raised removed from their home. State law wouldn't let them adopt because Florida banned gay or bisexual people from adopting.
O'Donnell's coming out drew criticism from some LGBT activists who cited her repeated references to being enamored of Tom Cruise on The Rosie O'Donnell Show as deceptive. She responded in her act stating, "I said I wanted him to mow my lawn and bring me a lemonade. I never said I wanted to blow him."
O'Donnell was named 2002's "Person of the Year" by The Advocate, and in May 2003, she became a regular columnist for the magazine.
O'Donnell adopted her first child, Parker Jaren O'Donnell, as an infant in 1995. Later, Kelli Carpenter also adopted Parker. Parker is an aficionado of military history and, in 2011, successfully lobbied his mother to send him to Valley Forge Military Academy.
On February 26, 2004, O'Donnell married Kelli Carpenter, a former Nickelodeon marketing executive, in San Francisco 2 weeks after San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom authorized the granting of marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Her decision to go to San Francisco to marry Carpenter was seen as a show of defiance against then-U.S. President George W. Bush over his support for the Federal Marriage Amendment. The couple was married by San Francisco Treasurer Susan Leal, one of the city's highest ranking lesbian officials, and serenaded by the San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus.
Carpenter and O'Donnell have four children together: Parker Jaren O'Donnell (born 1995), Chelsea Belle O'Donnell (born 1997), Blake Christopher O'Donnell (born 1999), and Vivienne Rose O'Donnell, who was born to Carpenter in 2002 through artificial insemination. In 2000, the family took in a foster child Mia (born in 1997), and announced intentions to adopt her. In 2001, the state of Florida removed Mia from their home, and O'Donnell has since worked extensively to bring an end to the Florida law prohibiting same-sex family adoption.
In mid-November 2009, O'Donnell disclosed that Carpenter had moved out of their home in 2007. Their official union had ended in August 2004 when their marriage was among the thousands annulled by the California Supreme Court, making divorce unnecessary.
O'Donnell began dating 40-year-old executive-search consultant Michelle Rounds in mid-2011. On December 5, 2011, during a break in the taping of The Rosie Show, O'Donnell announced to her studio audience she and Rounds were engaged. The two married in a private ceremony in New York on June 9, 2012. On January 9, 2013, the couple announced they had adopted a baby girl named Dakota.
On February 6, 2015, representatives for O'Donnell confirmed she and Rounds had separated in November of the previous year. In February 2015, O'Donnell filed for divorce from Rounds after 2 years of marriage. Their divorce was settled in October 2015. O'Donnell was awarded full custody of 2-year-old Dakota "Dax" O'Donnell. Rounds committed suicide on September 15, 2017.
O'Donnell announced in November on The Howard Stern Show that she has a new girlfriend named Rooney. "I am in love. It’s the first time I’ve dated someone younger than me and it’s a very trippy thing,' said Rosie. She is a Boston police officer and the two met at a charity event.
O'Donnell was named 2002's "Person of the Year" by The Advocate, and in May 2003, she became a regular columnist for the magazine.
O'Donnell adopted her first child, Parker Jaren O'Donnell, as an infant in 1995. Later, Kelli Carpenter also adopted Parker. Parker is an aficionado of military history and, in 2011, successfully lobbied his mother to send him to Valley Forge Military Academy.
Carpenter and O'Donnell have four children together: Parker Jaren O'Donnell (born 1995), Chelsea Belle O'Donnell (born 1997), Blake Christopher O'Donnell (born 1999), and Vivienne Rose O'Donnell, who was born to Carpenter in 2002 through artificial insemination. In 2000, the family took in a foster child Mia (born in 1997), and announced intentions to adopt her. In 2001, the state of Florida removed Mia from their home, and O'Donnell has since worked extensively to bring an end to the Florida law prohibiting same-sex family adoption.
In mid-November 2009, O'Donnell disclosed that Carpenter had moved out of their home in 2007. Their official union had ended in August 2004 when their marriage was among the thousands annulled by the California Supreme Court, making divorce unnecessary.
O'Donnell began dating 40-year-old executive-search consultant Michelle Rounds in mid-2011. On December 5, 2011, during a break in the taping of The Rosie Show, O'Donnell announced to her studio audience she and Rounds were engaged. The two married in a private ceremony in New York on June 9, 2012. On January 9, 2013, the couple announced they had adopted a baby girl named Dakota.
On February 6, 2015, representatives for O'Donnell confirmed she and Rounds had separated in November of the previous year. In February 2015, O'Donnell filed for divorce from Rounds after 2 years of marriage. Their divorce was settled in October 2015. O'Donnell was awarded full custody of 2-year-old Dakota "Dax" O'Donnell. Rounds committed suicide on September 15, 2017.
O'Donnell announced in November on The Howard Stern Show that she has a new girlfriend named Rooney. "I am in love. It’s the first time I’ve dated someone younger than me and it’s a very trippy thing,' said Rosie. She is a Boston police officer and the two met at a charity event.
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