Rosie O'Donnell

Her parents were homemaker Roseann Teresa (née Murtha; 1934–1973) and Edward Joseph O'Donnell (1933–2015), an electrical engineer who worked in the defense industry.

Edward had emigrated from County Donegal, Ireland during his childhood, and her mother was Irish American.

O'Donnell was raised Roman Catholic.

Her older brother is Daniel J. O'Donnell, now a member of the New York State Assembly.

Roseann O'Donnell (born March 21, 1962) is an American comedian, television producer, actress, author, and television personality.

On March 17, 1973, four days before O'Donnell's 11th birthday, her mother died from breast cancer.

While she attended Commack High School, O'Donnell was voted homecoming queen, prom queen, senior class president, and class clown.

During high school, she began exploring her interest in comedy, beginning with a skit performed in front of the school in which she imitated Gilda Radner's character Roseanne Roseannadanna.

O'Donnell toured as a stand-up comedian in clubs from 1979 to 1984.

She got her first big break on Star Search, explaining on Larry King Live:

"I was 20 years old, and I was at a comedy club in Long Island. This woman came over to me and she said, I think you're funny. Can you give me your number? My dad is Ed McMahon. I was like, yeah, right. I gave her my father's phone number. I was living at home, I'm like, whatever. And about three days later, the talent booker from Star Search called and said, we're going to fly you out to L.A. ... I won, like, five weeks in a row. And it gave me national exposure."

After graduating in 1980, O'Donnell briefly attended Dickinson College, later transferring to Boston University before ultimately dropping out of college.

She began her comedy career as a teenager and received her breakthrough on the television series Star Search in 1984.

After this success, she moved on to television sitcoms, making her series debut as Nell Harper's neighbor on Gimme a Break! in 1986.

In 1988, she joined music video station VH1's lineup of veejays.

She started hosting a series for VH1, Stand-up Spotlight, a showcase for up-and-coming comedians.

In 1992, she starred in Stand By Your Man, a Fox Network sitcom co-starring Melissa Gilbert.

The show bombed, just as O'Donnell's film career took off.

O'Donnell made her feature film debut in A League of Their Own (1992) alongside Tom Hanks, Geena Davis, and Madonna.

She was originally considered for the role of Mary Sanderson in Disney's Hocus Pocus, but it was ultimately given to Kathy Najimy.

O'Donnell claimed on her blog that she turned down the offer to work with Bette Midler because she refused to portray a frightening evil witch.

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; as the voice of a tomboyish female gorilla named Terk in Disney's Tarzan; and as a baseball-loving nun in M. Night Shyamalan's Wide Awake.

O'Donnell was considered for the role of Elaine Benes on Seinfeld.

After a series of television and film roles that introduced her to a larger national audience, O'Donnell hosted her own syndicated daytime talk show, The Rosie O'Donnell Show, between 1996 and 2002, which won several Daytime Emmy Awards.

During this period, she developed the nickname "Queen of Nice", as well as a reputation for philanthropic efforts.

In 1996, she began hosting a daytime talk show, The Rosie O'Donnell Show, for her production company KidRo Productions.

The show proved very successful, winning multiple Emmy Awards, and earning O'Donnell the title of "The Queen of Nice" for her style of light-hearted banter with her guests and interactions with the audience.

As part of her playful banter with her studio audience, O'Donnell often launched koosh balls at the crowd and camera.

She also professed an infatuation with Tom Cruise.

In addition to comedy, film, and television, O'Donnell has also been a magazine editor, celebrity blogger, and author of several memoirs, including Find Me (2002) and Celebrity Detox (2007).

She used the Find Me $3 million advance to establish her For All foundation and promote other charity projects, encouraging celebrities on her show to take part.

She has also been an outspoken advocate for lesbian rights and gay adoption issues.

O'Donnell is a foster and adoptive mother.

She was named The Advocate 2002 Person of the Year; in May 2003, she became a regular contributor to the magazine.

O'Donnell also continues to be a television producer and a collaborative partner in the LGBT family vacation company R Family Vacations.

O'Donnell, the third of five children, was born and raised in Commack, Long Island, New York.

From 2006 to 2007, O'Donnell endured a controversial run as the moderator on the daytime talk show The View, which included a public feud with Donald Trump and on-air disputes regarding the Bush administration's policies with the Iraq War.

She hosted Rosie Radio on Sirius XM Radio between 2009 and 2011, and from 2011 to 2012 hosted a second, short-lived talk show on OWN, The Rosie Show.

O'Donnell returned to The View in 2014, leaving after a brief five-month run due to personal issues.

From 2017 to 2019, she starred on the Showtime comedy series SMILF.