Rosie O'Donnell
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Roseanne Teresa O'Donnell (born March 21, 1962) is an American comedian, actress, and former television talk show host. She was born in Bayside, Queens, New York to Edward J. O'Donnell, an Irish Catholic immigrant from Belfast (from whom she is estranged), and Roseann Murtha, an American of Irish Catholic descent and who died of breast cancer at the age of 38. Rosie O'Donnell was raised in Commack on Long Island (Suffolk County, New York).
Biography
Early life and film career
Rosie O'Donnell briefly attended both Dickinson College and Boston University. O'Donnell began her career performing stand-up comedy around the East Coast, and was soon cast as "Maggie O'Brien" on the sitcom Gimme a Break. Her heavy-set appearance and tomboyish, husky New York accent stood her apart from other actresses and comediennes. She hosted the VH1 stand-up comedy series Stand-Up Spotlight 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 flops 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 television 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 featured extended production numbers from Broadway musicals and is credited with bringing this artform into the living rooms of America. O'Donnell was known for her light-hearted banter with her guests and interactions with the sudience, 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 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 comedienne Caroline Rhea (The Caroline Rhea Show), but it only lasted one season. Shortly before leaving her show, O'Donnell confirmed the rumors 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 and loving gay parents. She hoped that by coming out, it would increase awareness of this subject.
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 schizophrenic woman 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, cruise ship, and return to film
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.
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 carries homosexual families from New York to the Bahamas. 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 and put her on the short list for the 2006 Emmy Award nominations for Best Actress in a TV Motion Picture or Miniseries. She expressed concerns during filming that this role may 'typecast her forever' in mentally retarded roles.
Controversy
Gun Control Stance
Rosie O'Donnell is an outspoken supporter of gun control and 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. Her critics charged that this was hypocrisy, citing the April 19, 1999 broadcast of her talk show where 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 reconciled her stance by remarking "I don't personally own a gun." [2,3]
In 1999, O'Donnell interviewed actor Tom Selleck, who was promoting a film. During the interview, O'Donnell confronted him about his stance on guns and his involvement with the NRA making it an infamously tense TV moment. Later in 1999 O'Donnell discontinued her contract as spokeswoman for Kmart, a large retailer of firearms. Kmart announced a new marketing program called "Changing for the Better" and featuring the mother-daughter country duo, the Judds.
George W. Bush
Rosie O'Donnell is an outspoken critic of President George W. Bush. In a 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.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosie_O%27Donnell
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