Trivia

In 2006, she donated $5,700,000 to Hurricane Katrina relief efforts including Renaissance Village (a temporary shelter for Katrina victims), day care centers, a rehabilitation center in San Antonio, Texas, and a Habitat for Humanity subdivision in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Appeared as a lifeline on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire (1999), correctly answering the question, and helping the contestant win $32,000. She later invited the contestant onto her show, and gave him a week-long trip to London, England, UK.

Has said that she will never have biological children because of a family history of alcoholism and cancer. She plans to adopt more children, and is also becoming a certified foster parent (as of December 1999).

She is a big fan of the Harry Potter book series, and even offered to play "Molly Weasley" in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001) for free.

Voted high school homecoming queen.

Rose has the best friendship with Madonna. She had a good friendship with Penny Marshall when they appeared in Kmart commercials as its spokeswomen.

Auditioned for role of Elaine on Seinfeld (1989).

Has a very big toy collection, especially McDonald's Happy Meal toys.

Was a close friend of writer-director Nora Ephron. When Ephron was diagnosed with leukemia, she hid the illness from even her dearest friends, including O'Donnell, until she died in 2012 at age 71.

Suffered a heart attack. (August 2012)

She has appeared in one film that has been selected for the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically or aesthetically" significant: A League of Their Own (1992).

Has 5 children: a son Parker Jaren O'Donnell (b. May 25, 1995, adopted), a daughter Chelsea O'Donnell (Chelsea Belle O'Donnell) (b. September 20, 1997, adopted), a son Blake Christopher O'Donnell (b. December 5, 1999, adopted) & a daughter Vivienne Rose O'Donnell (b. November 29, 2002, was born by her now ex-1st wife Kelli O'Donnell) with her now ex-1st wife, Kelli O'Donnell; a daughter Dakota O'Donnell (b. January 5, 2013, adopted) with her now estranged 2nd wife, Michelle Rounds.

She once sued KRSK-FM, a Portland, Oregon, radio station. She was the subject of scathing editorials in Portland as a result of her court action. KRSK had given itself the nickname "Rosie 105", a reference to Portland's nickname, "the Rose City". O'Donnell claimed that she owned the name Rosie, and that the station was trying to cash in on her celebrity nickname. The court found in favor of the radio station.

Her role-models are Barbra Streisand and Bette Midler.

She refuses to sign autographs for adults.

Won $20,000 on Star Search (1983).

Is a third cousin to Bridget Moynahan on her father's side, a fact that Rosie O'Donnell did not know until Bridget was a guest on The View (1997).

Father was born in Belfast, N. Ireland.

Cites Lin-Manuel Miranda's "Hamilton" as her all-time favorite Broadway show. She confessed to Seth Meyers that she'd seen it 27 times through November 2017.

A TV special she co-hosted on Nickelodeon, "Nick News Special Edition: My Family is Different", logged some 100,000 e-mails and calls in protest about its gay-parenting content, before the show even aired 18 June 2002. The campaign was reportedly organized by the Traditional Values Coalition. Linda Ellerbee hosted and produced the show.

Rosie's father, Edward, was a spy-camera engineer for a defense corporation.

Counts The Sound of Music (1965) as her all-time favorite movie, a declaration she made via video link to Episode dated 28 October 2010 (2010) on the occasion of the movie's 45th anniversary and rare cast reunion.

Is allergic to cats and horses.

Collects Barbie dolls. In 1999, she received a Barbie brand doll sculpted in her likeness, based on her talk show.

Took the role in Exit to Eden (1994) after learning that Sharon Stone had turned it down.

Voted most popular in her high school class.

Friends with Fran Drescher, Bill Cosby, Edward Asner, Jane Fonda, Star Jones, Martha Stewart, and Billy Porter.

She seriously thought performing the role of Mary Sanderson in Disney's Hocus Pocus (1993) would have been too obnoxious, so the role ultimately went to Kathy Najimy. Rosie would go on to voice Terk the gorilla in Tarzan (1999).

Stated on The View (1997) that she keeps her Emmy Awards in storage, and when queried by Elisabeth Hasselbeck, confirmed that she lets her kids paint them.

(February 27, 2015) Filed for divorce from her 2nd wife of 2 years, Michelle Rounds, following a 3-month-long separation.

Started out doing stand-up comedy.

Was a VH-1 VeeJay.

Has said that she realized she was a lesbian after seeing Jacqueline Bisset in The Deep (1977).

Came close to replacing Bob Barker as the new host of The Price is Right (1972). However, the permanent job would require her to move to California (from living on the East coast), in the end Drew Carey got the pick.

Once owned and lived in the late Helen Hayes's former home in Nyack, New York.

Anjelica Huston wanted her to play the lead in the film Agnes Browne (1999) but she turned it down because the offer came shortly after the shootings at Columbine High-School and O'Donnell felt that she was too emotional to do a film at that time.

Used to work in the catalog department at Sears. Her job was to attach the orders to the catalogs, dump the catalogs in the correct bins, and then fetch the orders for the customers.

Born on the same day as actor Matthew Broderick.

Sister-in-law of John Banta who is married to her older brother, Daniel O'Donnell, a New York State Assemblyman representing the Upper West Side.

Dropped out of Boston University after one year. Dropped out of Dickinson College (Carlisle, Pennsylvania) as well.

Has a chain of roses tattoo on her ankle.

Occasionally refers to herself as the "Comic from Commack".

Is a big New York Jets fan.

Attended Commack High School South, the same high school as sportscaster Bob Costas.

Big fan of Tom Cruise and Savage Garden.

Split with Kelli O'Donnell in 2007.

Attended the 1993 wedding of Donald Trump and Marla Maples.

Release of her book, "Celebrity Detox". (September 2007)

Attended Sawmill Junior High School in Commack, New York.

Fell and broke her right hand. (March 2000)