Pub GuideRosie O'Donnell
date of birth: March 21, 1962
place of birth: Queens, New York
The third of five children born to Edward, an electrical engineer who immigrated to New York from County Donegal, and to Irish-American mother Roseann, O’Donnell was raised in a strict Roman-Catholic household. Just days shy of her 11th birthday, O’Donnell was deeply affected by her mother’s sudden death from breast cancer.
Despite this trauma that impacted her early childhood, O’Donnell was very popular in school and was voted homecoming queen, prom queen, senior class president, as well as class clown. Her interest in comedy was further honed in High School when she performed in front of her classmates. After High School, O’Donnell attended Boston University before realizing her life was not meant for the academic sphere.
The early eighties saw O’Donnell pursuing a career in stand up comedy, and for five years she toured the country in order to make a name for herself. It would be television, however, that would pave the way for O’Donnell’s stardom. Starring as Nell Carter’s neighbor in Gimme a Break!, and hosting shows on VH1 in the early nineties such as Stand-up Spotlight, O’Donnell was approached by movie producers who saw a bigger name for her in Hollywood. Soon after O’Donnell was starring opposite the likes of Tom Hanks, Timothy Hutton, and Meg Ryan, having supporting roles in hits like A League of Their Own and Sleepless in Seattle, to name a few.
1996 proved not only to be a pivotal year in O’Donnell’s career, but also for that of television with the debut of her daytime talk show The Rosie O’Donnell Show. The show won the praise of critics, won numerous Emmys and a lasting fanbase, and even garnered O’Donnell the nickname “The Queen of Nice.” At the top of her game, O’Donnell left the show in 2002 in order to pursue her own magazine, a venture that bombed for O’Donnell. She infamously joined The View after Meredith Viera’s departure in 2006, proving that she was still a commanding presence. After numerous public feuds and bouts of controversy created by her stances on issues such as Roman Catholicism and the War in Iraq, O’Donnell left the View. She is currently working on a show that will premiere on Oprah Winfrey’s OWN Network.
A well known advocate for Gay Rights, O’Donnell came out as a lesbian in 2002. In 2004 she married partner Kelli Carpenter, with whom she has four children, only to separate from her in 2007. O’Donnell is currently based in New York.
Rosie O'DonnellLatest News
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- Rosie O'Donnell insists that Oprah Winfrey is not gay - SEE VIDEO
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- Rosie O'Donnell calls Rush Limbaugh a junkie
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- Rosie O'Donnell has a new love in her life - Tracy Kachtick-Anders
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