Rosie was born Roseann O'Donnell on March 21,1962 into a Irish, Catholic family in Commack, Long Island, New York, the middle child of five, (Eddie, Danny, Maureen and Timmy). Her mother ,her namesake, died of cancer when she was 10 (1972) leaving her father to raise the family. She grew up in front of the television.

Rosie excelled in high school socially , and maintained a B average. In the Commack High School class of '80 she was elected Homecoming Queen, Senior Class President, Student Council Member, Personality Plus and Class Clown.While in high school she played drums in a rock band and played on all sports teams.

Being inspired by Bette Midler and Barbra Streisand,Rosie wanted to be in show business from a young age. At 16 she performed her first stand-up act when she memorized a Seinfeld act she had seen Jerry do on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson.She attended Dickinson College in Carlisle, PA, and Boston University, dropping out at the age of 18, at which she started working the club circuits.

Rosie made her television debut as a Star Search finalist in 1984, then won praise for her sitcom role as a Boston-Irish dental hygienist--Nell Carter's neighbor--during Gimme A Break's last 11 episodes in 1986.

After Gimme A Break, Rosie was asked to host and produce VH-1's Stand Up Spotlight,which helped broaden her appeal and opened the door for her own TV show.

She subsequently appeared in Sleepless in Seattle and Another Stakeout(both in 1993. Her next movies were,The Flintstones and Exit To Eden (both in 1994), Rosie hated Exit To Eden. Also in that same year, she made her singing and dancing debut on Broadway as Rizzo in the revival of Grease.Then came Now And The(1995), and Beautiful Girls(1996).

Her most cherished time was, when she adopted 2 day old Parker Jaren, on May 27, 1995.But during the filming of Harriet The Spy(1996), she realized she was missing too much of Parker's life. It was then that she deceided to become a talk show host.

In March 1996 she began work on The Rosie O'Donnell Show.The show made it's debut on June 10, 1996.

Then another miracle for Rosie,in Oct. of 1997 she adopted another baby,a little girl. Chelsea Belle, born September 20,1997. Parker got to give her her middle name, which he got from Beauty And The Beast.

For now Rosie lives in Nyack,NY with her son,daughter and two long-haired chihuahuas. She prefers to spend her evenings at home with her children, watching tv and chatting on America Online.