What happened to Rosie O'Donnell?

Rosie O'Donnell, a stand-up comedian and actress, was once a fixture of daytime TV. Where is she now? Here's a look at the career and controversies of an outspoken American celebrity.

The comedian shot to fame with the Emmy-winning 'Rosie O'Donnell Show,' which ran from 1996 to 2002. Although she was opinionated on everything from gun control to LGBT issues, it gained her the reputation for being the "Queen of Nice" for her light-hearted banter with guests and playful interactions with the audience.

While O'Donnell may be most famous for her personality and talk shows, she is also an actress. She studied the craft in New York and made memorable appearances in films like 1992's 'A League of Their Own,' 'Exit to Eden (1994), 'Harriet the Spy (1996),' and 'Now and Then (1995).'

Image: 'A League of Their Own,' 1992, Colombia Pictures

In 2006, O'Donnell took the lead seat at the table of 'The View,' where she is credited with shifting the conversation to make it more politically oriented. After she got there, viewership surged as she debated with the other ladies on the show and presented her smoking hot takes on the topics of the day like the Iraq War and Catholic Church scandals. She only stayed until 2007, but her fiery debates got the show historic viewership.

Her highly politicized feud with the man who would go on to become one of the most polarizing US Presidents in history began long before he was into politics. "This guy annoys me on a multitude of levels," Rosie riffed back in 2006 on 'The View,' also saying he went bankrupt, calling him a "snake-oil salesman," making fun of his hair and lambasting him for pretending to be a moral authority after cheating on his wives." I don't enjoy him. No, no, no," she said.

In return, not only did Trump threaten to sue 'The View,' he seized on O'Donnell's popularity and remarks against him to insult her. He went on a media tour in 2006, calling her names like "fat little Rosie," "stupid," "a little clam," "unattractive," "that animal," and a "degenerate." His public targeting of her continued for over a decade, and her comments on Trump also began a rift with her cohost Barbra Walters.

In 2007, O'Donnell stepped away from the spotlight at dizzying levels of fame. That same year, she published her second memoir comparing leaving the spotlight with detoxing from a drug. It explained why she walked away from her top-rated TV show in 2002 and her reasons for going back on the air in 2006. In it, she also spills the beans about the conflicts and challenges she faced as cohost on 'The View.'

However, in 2010, she returned to hosting her own show on the Oprah Winfrey network OWN. However, it wasn't very successful and was canceled after a season. In 2014, she also returned to 'The View' as a cohost, but again lasted just one year, citing health concerns as why she left again.

'View' cohost Joy Behar revealed on the 'Behind the Table' podcast that she kept a detailed diary when Rosie was on the show and said "people would go crazy if she released it." "[Producer] Andy Cohen is on his knees begging me to do a book," she added.

In 2012, at age 50, O'Donnell had a heart attack. On her blog, she said "she was lucky to be alive" and encouraged women to trust themselves in their intuition that something is wrong and not to ignore symptoms.

Trump's grudge against O'Donnell was so enduring that he even mentioned her during a presidential debate in 2015 – the year before he was elected. When Fox News host and debate moderator Megyn Kelly asked about his use of language like "fat pigs," "dogs," "slobs" and "disgusting animals" to describe some women, he didn't miss a beat, saying "Only Rosie O'Donnell," generating gasps and laughter from the crowd.

While she has mainly kept away from acting in films, after her talk shows, she really dived into acting for TV. Her work in the sitcom S MI LF was praised, as were her appearances on 'The L Word' and 'American Gigolo.' Fun facts: She is also the subway announcer in six episodes of the show 'Russian Doll' and appears in one episode of the 2022 remake of 'A League of Their Own.'

In 2023, she launched a podcast, telling PEOPLE it is in tune with her next chapter. "When I turned 60, I felt as though life is like a three chapter book, zero to 30, 30 to 60, 60 onward," she said. "I'm in the third chapter of the book. So let's put all the past in the past, and let's just focus on being where we are right now, and onward to another day. And that's kind of the place that I'm at in my life and careers. And that's the place that we arrive at the podcast."

Indeed, O'Donnell is channeling her talent as an interviewer in her weekly podcast called 'Onward.' While more low-key than TV, she doesn't hide from controversy, interviewing celebrity pals, newsmakers like a woman who survived 10 years in a Texas prison and influencers like trans advocate and BudLight spokesperson Dylan Mulvaney.

O'Donnell's days in the limelight have left her with a juicy Rolodex of famous friends. She's even one of Madonna's best friends, and kept fans updated about the singer after she was hospitalized for a bacterial infection.

In 2022, O'Donnell split with her girlfriend Aimee Hauer after dating her for less than a year. In 2023, she told Page Six that she is happy being single but "open to see what falls in front of me…. I really thrive on wonderful art, wonderful conversation, intellectual debate … and what I like to consume and it keeps me creatively inspired."

She is also tight with her five children, despite going through some troubled times. She adopted her first child Parker in 1995 and eventually adopted four more over the years. In 2022, she opened up about her youngest's autism, which O'Donnell says is her superpower. She is also a grandmother.

Image: Rosie with her youngest, Dakota, rosie/Instagram

In Jan. 2025, she complained on TikTok that the game show 'Jeopardy!' was interupted by Basketball. “Every night of my life I watch it...I hate when ‘Jeopardy!’ is not on because of sports."

If you really want to keep up with O'Donnell, Rosie is active on Instagram, X, and Tiktok, posting pics of her life, political opinions and even her portraits of her arch nemesis Donald Trump. You can follow her various accounts @Rosie.

Image: Rosie / X