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| Birth Name(s) : Rosanne Teresa O'Donnell |
Date of Birth: March 21, 1962 |
| Status:
Dating
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Partner:
Kelli Carpenter |
| Profession:
Actor/Public Figure |
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Full Rosie O'Donnell Biography
| Rosie O'Donnell was born into an Irish family in Commack, Long Island. She was in the middle of 5 children. Her mother died when she was ten. She said that she watched TV nearly 24 hours a day. When she was 18 she dropped out of college and went on to do shows like Gimme A Break, and she produced and hosted Stand Up in the Spotlight. Now she works on her own down-to-earth syndicated show: The Rosie O'Donnell Show. |
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Additional Rosie O'Donnell Biography
Roseann Theresa "Rosie" O'Donnell (born March 21, 1962 in Bayside, Queens, New York) is an 11-time Emmy Award-winning American comedian, television talk show host, author, celebrity blogger, gay rights activist, film, television, and stage actress.
O'Donnell was the third of five children born to Edward and Roseann O'Donnell. Four days before her 11th birthday on March 17, 1973, O'Donnell's mother died of breast cancer She was raised in Commack, New York.
San Francisco public relations firm Fineman Associates awarded top prize to Procter & Gamble Co.'s designation of O'Donnell as "unkissable" in a promotion for its Scope mouthwash on the 1997 annual list of the nation's worst public relations blunders. In response to the promotion, the "unkissable" O'Donnell partnered with Warner Lambert's competitor Listerine who donated bottles of mouthwash to the studio audience and donated $1,000 to charity every time a hosted guest would kiss her in exchange for O'Donnell promoting their product. On occasion, the guests would offer multiple kisses and People reported O'Donnell "smooched her way to more than $350,000."
In 2003, Rosie and Kelli O'Donnell collaborated with Artistic Director Lori Klinger to create "Rosie's Broadway Kids", dedicated to providing free instruction in music and dance to New York City public schools or students. Rosie's Broadway Kids serves more than 4,500 teachers, students, and their family members at 21 schools. Currently programs are in Harlem, Midtown West, Chelsea, Lower East Side, East Village, and Chinatown.
In late 2003, O'Donnell and the publishers each sued the other for breach of contract. The publishers claimed that, by removing herself from the magazine's publication, she was in breach of contract. The trial received considerable press coverage. O'Donnell would often give brief press interviews outside of the courtroom responding to various allegations. Of note was a former magazine colleague and breast cancer survivor who testified that O'Donnell said to her on the phone that people who lie "get sick and they get cancer. If they keep lying, they get it again". O'Donnell apologized the next day and stated "I'm sorry I hurt her the way I did, that was not my intention." The judge ruled against both sides and dismissed the case.
A documentary film about the trip looked inside the lives of some of the 500 families that cruised from New York to the Bahamas. The documentary, All Aboard: Rosie's Family Cruise, debuted on HBO on April 6, 2006, and is now available on DVD. The film was nominated for three Emmy Awards. Of the experience O'Donnell stated "we didn’t really realize the magic that was going to take place. People who had never met another gay family met other families and it was powerful."
O'Donnell is credited with helping The View be more news-focused while still embracing the "fluff" of daytime TV talkshows discussing celebrities, fashion and food. Despite the overall downward trend for most daytime broadcast shows The View's ratings surged 27% over its year-ago Nielsen numbers with O'Donnell in the moderator's seat. Overall, "The View" was the fourth most watched show in all of daytime in the key demographic of women 18-49, and The View scored record ratings in the total viewer category with an average of 3.4 million viewers -- up 15% vs. the same time in 2005.
The View achieved higher ratings with O'Donnell's outspoken and candid nature moving the show into a newsworthy spectrum from traditional daytime talk fare. As a big-name talent she drew criticism for her opinions while keeping the show's "buzz factor up." The downside of being spontaneous and putting her views in front of a national audience was that such remarks were often subject of controversy and criticism, especially by conservative commenters and other media outlets, who recirculated comments and clips from the show.
She apologized to the viewers saying, "To say ching chong to someone is very offensive, and some Asian people have told me it's as bad as the n-word. Which I was like, 'Really? I didn't know that.'" "To anyone who was offended at my Chinese, Asian, pseudo-Japanese, sounded a little Yiddish accent that I was doing, you know, it was never intent to mock, and I'm sorry for those who felt hurt or were teased on the playground.... But I'm also gonna give you a fair warning that there's a good chance I'll do something like that again, probably in the next week — not on purpose. Only 'cause it's how my brain works."
On December 20, 2006, O'Donnell criticized billionaire Donald Trump for holding a press conference to reinstate Miss USA Tara Conner, 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. Conner had violated pageant guidelines by clubbing and drinking underage, as well as having "wild nights" and alleged sexual liaisons (including kissing and "dirty dancing") with Miss Teen USA Katie Blair in public, yet was allowed to keep her crown on condition that she enter rehab. 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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Rosie O'Donnell Quote(s)
| Unfortunately in the gay community, oftentimes people that get the most attention are the most flamboyant and loud. And that's not to dismiss them, because drag queens and, you know, leather motorcycle women, they have their place in the gay community as well. But they're not -- they don't define the gay community by any stretch of the imagination. |
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