Rosie O’Donnell, who celebrates her 60th birthday on Mar. 21, is a successful comedian, talk show host, and a mother-of-five. Check out her family here.
1 of 9Rosie O’Donnell & Family: Photos
Rosie O’Donnell isn’t just an accomplished comedian and talk show host, she’s also a mother of five. The ‘Flinstones’ star adopted four children with her first wife Kelli Carpenter. The longtime partners married in 2004 briefly before breaking up in 2007. Rosie also has a daughter with late wife Michelle Rounds. The pair married in 2012 and adopted daughter Dakota together in Jan. 2013 before splitting in 2015. Sadly, Michelle passed away in 2017.
Rosie has been a huge advocate for letting same-sex couples adopt. She got involved after a foster daughter was taken out of her custody in Florida in 2001, solely due to her orientation, and has advocated against laws barring LGBTQ couples from adopting in Florida and elsewhere.
Here, Rosie O’Donnell and daughter Chelsea appear at the 27th Annual Salute to Women in Sports Awards Dinner in New York on Oct. 16, 2006.
Click through the gallery to learn more about Rosie and her family.
Rosie, Parker & Chelsea In 2010
Parker O’Donnell, Rosie O’Donnell, and Chelsea O’Donnell appear at the opening night of the Broadway production of Green Day’s ‘American Idiot’ on Apr. 20, 2010. Parker is her eldest, adopted in 1995 with Kelli. Rosie adopted Chelsea in 1997.
Rosie O’Donnell & Son Parker At Opening Night Of ‘Billy Elliot: The Musical’
Rosie O’Donnell plants a kiss on son Parker O’Donnell’s cheek as they arrive for opening night of ‘Billy Elliot: The Musical’ on Nov. 13, 2008. The show was Rosie’s close friend Sir Elton John’s stage musical version of hit film ‘Billy Elliot’, about an English miner’s son who dreams of being a ballet dancer.
Rosie & Parker In 2010
Rosie O’Donnell and son Parker O’Donnell appear in a panel for the HBO documentary ‘A Family is a Family: A Rosie O’Donnell Celebration’ during HBO’s Television Critics Association winter press tour in 2010.
Talking about her LGBTQ advocacy in 2002 with Larry King, Rosie said, “I never in my life had been persecuted against for being a gay person, although I do understand that gay people go through that on a constant and daily basis. It was not at all my reality. When I was not allowed to adopt a foster child I had raised in my home for 16 months, a child who had been in the system since she was a baby, who had been in 20 other homes and had never been able to stay, when the state of Florida said to me, ‘You are unworthy because you’re gay,’ I said it is time for me to stand up and say this law is wrong. And that’s why I did it.”
Rosie & The Kids In Miami
Boat trip! Rosie O’Donnell and family enjoy the Miami sun on Dec. 31, 2007.
Kelli Carpenter & Rosie O’Donnell In 2007
Kelli Carpenter and Rosie O’Donnell appear together at the 18th GLAAD Media Awards in New York on Mar. 26, 2007. The duo married in 2004 in San Francisco two weeks after then-Mayor Gavin Newsom authorized the granting of marriage licenses to same-sex couples.
Her decision to go to San Francisco to marry Carpenter was seen as a show of defiance against then-President George W. Bush over his support for the Federal Marriage Amendment. The marriage was deemed illegitimate by the state after, however. She said in 2004, “We were both inspired to come here after the sitting President made the vile and hateful comments he made … [O]ne thought ran through my mind on the plane out here – with Liberty and Social justice for all.”
Rosie & Kelli Get Married
Happy couple! Rosie O’Donnell walks with her partner Kelli Carpenter after getting married at San Francisco City Hall in San Francisco on Thursday, Feb. 26, 2004. The couple was married by San Francisco Treasurer Susan Leal, one of the city’s highest ranking lesbian officials, and serenaded by the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus.
Rosie O’Donnell & Michelle Rounds At The 2014 Tony Awards
Rosie O’Donnell and Michelle Rounds attend the 68th Annual Tony Awards on Jun. 8, 2014. The couple adopted daughter Dakota in January 2013.
Rosie O’Donnell & Michelle Rounds In 2014
Rosie O’Donnell and Michelle Rounds appear at the opening of the play ‘The Real Thing’ on Broadway in Oct. of 2014. Tragically, Michelle took her own life in 2017.
