Rosie O'Donnell

Roseann Teresa O'Donnell (born March 21, 1962) is an American comedian, talk show host, and actress. From 1996 to 2002, she hosted the daytime talk show, The Rosie O'Donnell Show. In September 2006, she will replace Meredith Vieira as a co-host on the ABC talk show, The View. She's also starred in various film, television, and stage productions. She is currently married to Kelli Carpenter-O'Donnell.

Early life and film career

O'Donnell was born in Bayside, Queens, New York to Edward J. O'Donnell, an Irish Catholic immigrant from Belfast, and Roseann Murtha, an American of Irish Catholic descent who later died of breast cancer at the age of 38. O'Donnell was raised in Commack on Long Island (Suffolk County, New York) and briefly attended Dickinson College.

O'Donnell began her career performing stand-up around the East Coast. Her heavy-set appearance and tomboyish, husky New York accent set her apart from other actresses and comediennes. She hosted the VH1 stand-up comedy series in the late 1980s. She was cast as the lead in her own sitcom in 1992, called Stand by Your Man (a US version of the BBC hit Birds of a Feather), which lasted only briefly due to low ratings.

In the early-90s, O'Donnell starred in a string of comedy films including A League of Their Own, Another Stakeout, and Sleepless in Seattle. In 1994 she played Betty Rubble in the live action movie version of The Flintstones. Throughout this period, she was highly acclaimed for her performances, but lost ground in the mid-90s with the less successful films Car 54, Where Are You? and Anne Rice's Exit to Eden. She also had roles in Now and Then, Beautiful Girls, and the family movie Harriet the Spy.

Talk show and magazine

In 1996, she began hosting a daytime talk show, The Rosie O'Donnell Show. The show proved extremely successful; early on O'Donnell was dubbed "The Queen of Nice." During her tenure, she frequently highlighted various charitable projects, which tended to generate significantly increased donations. O'Donnell was also known for featuring extended production numbers from Broadway musicals and is credited with bringing this artform into the living rooms of America. She was known for her light-hearted banter with her guests and interactions with the audience, including the unique daily introduction done by a random member of the audience at the beginning of each program. Her talk show won multiple Emmy awards as did O'Donnell for her hosting duties. It was also her tendency to interview "Superkids", not just the standard celebrities that also brought her critical attention.

In 2000, O'Donnell partnered with the publishers of McCall's to revamp the magazine as Rosie's McCall's (or, more commonly, Rosie). Rather than cover the magazine with thin models, she opted for stories about depression, breast cancer, and foster care. Rosie eventually folded due to difficulties in securing advertising at satisfactory rates. Some problems may have come from Internet-based boycotts of advertisers based on O'Donnell and the magazine's perceived political bias.

Leaving talk show and coming out

In 2002, O'Donnell left her talk show, favoring a return to stand-up comedy. The show was then hosted by comedian Caroline Rhea (the show was renamed The Caroline Rhea Show), but it only lasted one season. Shortly before leaving her show, O'Donnell confirmed the rumors about her sexuality when she came out of the closet as a lesbian. Within the gay community this was common knowledge, and the tabloids had been hinting at it. She claimed various reasons for doing so, including the need for publicity and to put a familiar face to homosexuality, but her primary reason was that as a lesbian adoptive mother (with a long-time lover) she was infuriated that adoption agencies, particularly in Florida, were refusing adoptive rights to able gay parents. She hoped that by coming out, it would increase awareness of this subject.

In her January 31, 2002 appearance in Will & Grace, she played the role of a lesbian. Thus the scriptwriters put the words "I'm gay" into her mouth before she officially "came out".

After leaving her show and coming out, O'Donnell underwent a minor image change. She returned to stand-up comedy, and within her first few shows made fun of various celebrities, among them Michael Jackson, Liza Minnelli, Diana Ross, Martha Stewart, Oprah Winfrey, Winona Ryder, and Joan Rivers. She also received what was considered by many to be an unflattering, somewhat masculine haircut, remniscent of Cyndi Lauper's hair in the 1980s. The tabloid press again picked up on her life, claiming that she had abandoned the "Queen of Nice" image. O'Donnell pointed out that her stand-up routine had always been very political and abrasive, and that her haircut was a personal choice. She eventually claimed that she had cut her hair in imitation of Boy George, in hopes that he would allow her to produce his stage show Taboo in the United States. If that was the true motive, she was successful, although the show was not, with a failed run on Broadway.

In 2002 O'Donnell also published an autobiography entitled Find Me. 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 was critically acclaimed and reached number two on the New York Times Best Seller List.

Legal battle with magazine publishers

In late 2003, O'Donnell entered into a legal battle with the publishers of Rosie magazine. They claimed that the failure of the magazine was due to O'Donnell's uncooperative, rude and violent behavior within the magazine's offices. They claimed that by removing herself from the magazine's publication, she was in breach of contract. O'Donnell claimed that there was no way she could in good conscience continue to be a part of the magazine, because they were moving away from her vision.

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 who testified that O'Donnell said to her on the phone that "people who lie die of cancer." Ultimately, the judge ruled against both sides and dismissed the case.

Marriage, children, cruise ship, and return to television

On February 26, 2004, O'Donnell entered legal union with her partner Kelli Carpenter, a former Nickelodeon marketing executive, in San Francisco, some two weeks after mayor Gavin Newsom authorized the granting of marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Her decision to marry Carpenter came after O'Donnell blasted President Bush over his support for the Federal Marriage Amendment. The license was later voided by the California Supreme Court.

Rosie and Kelli are parents to Parker Jaren (b. 05-25-1995), Chelsea Belle (b. 09-20-1997), Blake Christopher (b. 12-05-1999) and Vivienne Rose (b. 11-29-2002).

In December 2004, O'Donnell began maintaining a weblog at onceadored.blogspot.com with the title formerlyrosie, until it moved to Rosie.com in April 2005. Rosie used her blog to give away tickets to her Broadway show, Fiddler on the Roof, in which she played "Golde" opposite Harvey Fierstein as "Tevye."

O'Donnell and Carpenter are currently operating R. Family Vacations, a travel company geared towards gay and lesbian families. They have already launched a cruise ship that sails from New York to the Bahamas. (A documentary film about the gay cruise, All Aboard: Rosie's Family Cruise, had its debut on HBO on April 6, 2006.) O'Donnell continues to entertain and remains a popular pop culture icon and a celebrity representative of the gay and lesbian community. Rosie and her family now divide their time in homes on the Hudson River in South Nyack, New York, and in southern Florida.

Rosie O'Donnell returned to films in 2005 with her self-produced TV movie Riding the Bus with My Sister. Her performance, as a mentally retarded woman named Beth Smith, was critically acclaimed (although was derided by some). She expressed concerns during filming that this role may "typecast her forever" in mentally retarded roles.

During the 2006 Daytime Emmy Awards, Barbara Walters announced that O'Donnell will become a co-host on the talk show The View in September 2006, which is alleged to have been a factor in Star Jones Reynolds' contract not being renewed, though this allegation is as yet unsubstantiated. Many viewers expressed shock as well as dismay over ABC's choice. This dismay is partially because Rosie O'Donnell publicly "criticized" Star Jones Reynolds alleging that Reynolds was not truthful about her weight loss; however there is no proof of O'Donnell's allegation. She will replace Meredith Vieira, who departed The View in June to join NBC's The Today Show as Katie Couric's replacement. O'Donnell's website said she would assume the role of moderator upon Vieira's departure. Also on her website, she announced that she will be guest-starring in two episodes of season four of Nip/Tuck.

Political Views

Gun Control Stance

Rosie O'Donnell is an outspoken supporter of gun control and a major figure in the Million Mom March. In 2000, O'Donnell outraged parents of kindergartners at the school her son attends when she was granted special permission to allow an armed bodyguard to accompany her son to school. In response, she promised that the bodyguard wouldn't actually be armed while on the school grounds. Her critics charged that this was hypocrisy, citing the April 19, 1999, broadcast of her talk show, on which she stated, "You are not allowed to own a gun, and if you do own a gun, I think you should go to prison." O'Donnell has since regretted making the remarks and has attempted to reconcile her stance by remarking, "I don't personally own a gun." ^*

In 1999, O'Donnell interviewed actor Tom Selleck, who was promoting a film. During the interview, in what some critics perceived as an "ambush", O'Donnell confronted him about his stance on guns and his involvement with the NRA, making it an infamously tense TV moment^*. The interview was controversial as according to Selleck, the two agreed not to discuss the topic prior to his appearance on the show. She maintains that he and his publicist had been informed that the topic would be discussed.

Also in May 1999, Bernadette Peters and the rest of the cast from Annie Get Your Gun was to appear for taping and perform the song "Anything You Can Do." O’Donnell insisted that the line "I can shoot a partridge with a single cartridge" be removed from the song. Peters refused, and the cast sang a different song without Peters. Later in 1999, Kmart, discontinued O'Donnell's contract as spokeswoman because of her opinion of the large retailer's sale of firearms.

George W. Bush

Rosie O'Donnell is an outspoken critic of many people including President George W. Bush. In May 2005, O'Donnell said Bush was a war criminal who should be tried at the World Court in The Hague, Netherlands due to the 2003 invasion of Iraq. While others in entertainment have been criticized for taking political positions and statements such as this Rosie O'Donnell has mostly escaped such.

Works

Bibliography

Find Me (2002)

Awards

Daytime Emmy Awards

2002 Outstanding Talk Show, The Rosie O'Donnell Show
2002 Outstanding Talk Show Host, The Rosie O'Donnell Show

2001 Outstanding Talk Show, The Rosie O'Donnell Show
2001 Outstanding Talk Show Host, The Rosie O'Donnell Show (tied with Regis Philbin)

2000 Outstanding Talk Show, The Rosie O'Donnell Show
2000 Outstanding Talk Show Host, The Rosie O'Donnell Show

1999 Outstanding Talk Show, The Rosie O'Donnell Show
1999 Outstanding Talk Show Host, The Rosie O'Donnell Show

1998 Outstanding Talk Show, The Rosie O'Donnell Show
1998 Outstanding Talk/Service Show Host, The Rosie O'Donnell Show (tied with Oprah Winfrey)

1997 Outstanding Talk/Service Show Host, The Rosie O'Donnell Show

Emmy Awards

1999 Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Special, 52nd Annual Tony Awards

References

Interview on Inside the Actors Studio. Host James Lipton. Bravo TV. Aired 23 October. 2005 (original interview May 2005)

External links

Rosie O'Donnell | Rosie O'Donnell | Rosie O'Donnell | Rosie O'Donnell | Rosie O'Donnell

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