Rosie O’Donnell is a name that resonates with comedy lovers and pop culture enthusiasts alike. With a career spanning over three decades, O’Donnell has established herself as a versatile comedian, actress, producer, and television personality.
Her contributions to the entertainment industry have not only garnered her critical acclaim but also substantial wealth.
She is an American stand-up comedian, actress, author, and media personality. The stand-up comedian turned actress, turned talk show host, turned outspoken activist, and turned author, has been in and out of headlines over the years.
Rosie O’Donnell Net Worth
Since rising to the limelight in the 1980s, Rosie O’Donnell has had a stellar career, as she has signed several sensational contracts worth millions of dollars over the years.
So it’s no surprise to know that she managed to amass a net worth of $120 million.
Beyond the luxury life she can afford, this multi-talented media icon is known to be a major contributor to several charities and philanthropic endeavors.
O’Donnell had a lengthy on-again, off-again run on the talk show The View, where reports claim she was making a whopping $5 million a year just to share her views on politics and celebrity talks.
Acting is at the forefront of O’Donnell’s career, even though she made a fortune from her stint on daytime television.
There’s no word on how much she made while fronting her talk show, but considering that it lasted for six seasons, it’s fair to assume she made at least $3-5 million a year particularly since The Rosie O’Donnell Show was syndicated.
Early Life
Roseann O’Donnell was born in Commack, Long Island, New York, on March 21, 1962. She is the third of five children born to Roseann Teresa, a homemaker, and Edward Joseph O’Donnell, an electrical engineer in the defense industry.
She was raised in Commack along with her siblings and attended Commack High School, where she was voted homecoming queen, prom queen, senior class president, and class clown.
After graduating from high school in 1980, she continued her education at Dickinson College, transferring to Boston University before dropping out of college completely.
Relationship
O’Donnell was married to Michelle Rounds, a recruiter for a large New York-based IT staffing firm. The duo began their relationship in mid-2011 and several months later they got engaged.
They finally tied the knot on June 9, 2012, in a private ceremony in New York City. In January 2013, the couple adopted a child, a baby girl named Dakota O’Donnell.
However, the couple separated after Rosie O’Donnell filed for divorce in February 2015. Their divorce was finalized on March 30, 2016. Sadly, Michelle Rounds tragically committed suicide on September 15, 2017.
Before the aforementioned marital union, O’Donnell was in a long-term relationship with TV marketing executive Kelli Carpenter. The duo got engaged in October 2018.
According to Rosie O’Donnell, she chose not to have biological children because she has a family history of alcoholism and cancer.
However, she adopted at least five children. She adopted her first child, Parker Jaren O’Donnell, in 1995. She adopted 2 more children during her relationship with her ex-partner, Kelli Carpenter: a daughter named Chelsea Belle O’Donnell (born September 20, 1997) and a son named Blake Christopher O’Donnell (born December 5, 1999).
Career
From 1979 to 1984, O’Donnell toured as a stand-up comedian in various clubs around the country. She got her big break on the show “Star Search” in 1984 after the daughter of show host Ed McMahon approached her in a club following a performance.
O’Donnell’s feature film debut came in 1992, when she appeared in the sports comedy-drama “A League of Their Own” alongside stars like Tom Hanks and Geena Davis.
She continued to appear in various films in a variety of roles, such as the best friend of Meg Ryan’s character in “Sleepless in Seattle” (1993), as Betty Rubble in the live-action adaptation of “The Flintstones,” as a federal agent in “Exit to Eden” (1994), and as a co-star alongside Timothy Hutton in “Beautiful Girls” (1996), among many others.
In September 2006, O’Donnell replaced Meredith Vieira as co-host and moderator of the daytime women-oriented ABC talk show, “The View.”
She is credited with making the show more news-oriented while still maintaining a balance with the usual talk show materials of celebrities and fashion, and during her first year on “The View,” ratings rose by 27%. She left ABC in 2007 because she and the network failed to reach an agreement on a new contract.
Subsequently, O’Donnell started a video blog on her website Rosie.com in March 2007, featuring her hair and make-up artist Helen Macaulay and her writer from “The Rosie O’Donnell Show, Janette Barber.
The video series was called “Jahero”, using the first two letters of each of their first names. Her daily two-hour radio show on Sirius XM Radio, “Rosie Radio”, premiered in November 2009 and ran until June 2011.
On it, she discussed news and various current events.
Then, in 2011, O’Donnell began producing content for the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN). The show “The Doc Club with Rosie O’Donnell” premiered in May 2011, featuring O’Donnell as the moderator for live panel discussions after the premieres of OWN documentaries.
She also hosted specials, such as “Becoming Chaz” (May 2011) and “Miss Representation” (October 2011). Her show on OWN, “The Rosie Show,” ran from October 2011 to March 2012.
In the fall of 2014, O’Donnell returned to the revamped version of “The View” as co-host, this time along with Whoopi Goldberg, Rosie Perez, and Nicolle Wallace.
She left the show in 2015, citing personal reasons such as health problems. From 2013 to 2016, she appeared on several shows, including “Impractical Jokers” (2013) and “The Fosters” (2014–2016).
From November 2017 until March 2019, she was a member of the cast of the Showtime comedy “SMILF,” where she played Tutu between 2017 and 2019, and in 2020, she joined the cast of HBO’s I Know This Much Is True.
Conclusion
As of 2023, Rosie O’Donnell net worth is estimated to be around $120 million, according to various sources. Her wealth primarily stems from her successful career as a comedian and television host, where she has earned substantial salaries and endorsement deals over the years.
Additionally, O’Donnell has invested in various ventures, including real estate, which has further contributed to her net worth.
