“View gallery Image Credit: Broadway World/Shutterstock Rosie O’Donnell is a comedy and talk show icon. From her roles in Will & Grace to her own series The Rosie O’Donnell Show, Rosie has been a staple of the entertainment industry for decades. Other than her comedy and acting, Rosie has been a strong advocate for the LGBTQ+ community, and she’s”, — write: hollywoodlife.com
View gallery 
Image Credit: Broadway World/Shutterstock Rosie O’Donnell is a comedy and talk show icon. From her roles in Will & Grace to her own series The Rosie O’Donnell Show, Rosie has been a staple of the entertainment industry for decades. Other than her comedy and acting, Rosie has been a strong advocate for the LGBTQ+ community, and she’s been open about her relationships and family. Rosie was married to her first wife, Kelli Carpenter, from 2004 until their split in 2007. The couple adopted four children together. In 2012, she married the late Michelle Rounds, and they adopted one daughter before separating in 2015.
Rosie has been a strong advocate for adoption for same-sex couples. After she wasn’t able to adopt a child she fostered, because of her sexual orientation, she wanted to work to change laws to allow same-sex couples to adopt. “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,” she told Larry King in a 2002 interview on CNN. “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.”
Through her advocacy and frequent social media posts featuring her children, it’s clear that Rosie shares a deep bond with all five of her kids. Find out more about her children here!
Parker Jaren O’Donnell 
Rosie’s oldest child is her son Parker, 26. (Chris Pizzello/AP/Shutterstock) Rosie adopted her eldest son with Kelli in 1995, when he was a baby. Parker has grown into quite the young man, and he grew up to join the marines. He attended Valley Forge Military Academy and College. During an appearance on The View, Rosie raved about how proud she was of her son, and joked about how unexpected his decision to join the armed forces was. “How do you annoy your left-wing, liberal, pacifist mother? You become a big military man,” she said.
Since joining the Marines, Parker has shared numerous photos of his life in the service, including pictures with fellow soldiers and memes about army life. He also occasionally posts on Instagram adorable photos with his girlfriend, Hannah, whom he started dating in 2014.
Chelsea Belle O’Donnell 
Rosie and her daughter Chelsea, 24, in 2006. (Marion Curtis/Starpix/Shutterstock) Rosie adopted her oldest daughter Chelsea in 1997. Chelsea and her mom have had a bit of tumultuous history together, and they haven’t always seen eye-to-eye. Rosie’s daughter went missing back in August 2015, when she was just 17 years old. She was found to be staying with a 25-year-old heroin addict, who had claimed that they had started dating after meeting on Tinder, where Chelsea had lied about her age, via People. A month later she moved out to stay with her biological mother.
After moving out, Chelsea spoke about her relationship with Rosie in an October 2015 interview with DailyMail. Chelsea claimed she was “raised by nannies,” and spoke about some of the issues that she took with her mom. “I find her not genuine a lot of the time. When we’d go out, she was a completely different person in public than at home and I had a hard time with that. It’s like two different people,” she said at the time. As news broke about Chelsea’s estrangement, Rosie spoke about their troubled relationship in her comedy, per Entertainment Tonight. She spoke about her love for her daughter, but also mentioned that she suffered from a mental illness that also strained their relationship. “Chelsea just turned 18. For adopted children 18 is a magic number,” she said in a set at the time. “At 18 they’re gonna rebel any way they can, any way they can get your attention.”
Despite their ups and downs, Chelsea and Rosie have worked to mend their relationship. In December 2018, Chelsea gave birth to her first child, Rosie’s first grandchild, Skylar Rose. Since then, Chelsea has welcomed three more children: daughter Riley in January 2021, daughter Avery Lynn in February 2022, and son Atlas in October 2023.
Blake Christopher O’Donnell
Rosie adopted her third child Blake in December 1999. While not much is known about Blake, his mom does share plenty of photos of her son on her Instagram, along with pictures of him and his girlfriend Teresa. Rosie shared lots of photos of the young couple in awesome Halloween costumes in October 2021, where the pair dressed as Steve and Blue from Blue’s Clues and characters from Phantom of the Opera in another photo. Other than the photos, the former View host did share that she had dropped him off at Marist College back in August 2018 in an emotional tweet.
In Dec. 2022, Rosie announced the happy news that Blake and Teresa got engaged during a performance of Phantom of the Opera on Broadway. She shared a photo of the moment he was down on one knee and presenting the excited bride-to-be with her gorgeous diamond ring, which can be seen above, and added a sweet caption to go along with it. “last night – my son blake asked his gf teresa to marry him – and she said yes !!! the crowd clapped – and hillary clinton was there too- i cried all through phantom of the opera – wishing my mom was here to see it all #love #family ❤️❤️❤️,” the caption read.
The couple eventually got married on Aug. 16, 2024, during a lavish ceremony, where Blake’s sister Vivienne served as his “best man.”
Vivienne Rose O’Donnell
Kelli and Rosie adopted their youngest daughter, Vivienne in November 2002. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, it seems like Rosie and Vivienne bonded a lot by doing dances together, and the comedian shared a few of them to her Instagram for the sweet mom and daughter bonding moments. Other than dances, she’s kept Vivienne out of the spotlight, but she did announce that she had graduated from high school in June 2021 on Instagram.
Dakota O’Donnell
Rosie adopted Dakota with her ex-wife Michelle in January 2013. Sadly, Michelle took her own life in 2017, two years after she and Rosie divorced.
Rosie and Dakota share a special mother-daughter bond. While Rosie often posts pictures of all her children, Dakota is featured the most, with sweet photos and funny videos together. Rosie has shared many heartwarming moments, including videos of Dakota leaving nuts out for squirrels or the two of them having fun with a voice filter.
In September 2022, Rosie opened up in an essay for PEOPLE about Dakota’s autism diagnosis for the first time.
“I didn’t want Dakota to feel shame about her diagnosis,” Rosie shared. “I have told her from the start that autism is her superpower.”
In a TikTok video posted on March 11, 2025, Rosie explained that she and her daughter moved to Ireland on January 15, 2025, as a result of President Donald Trump‘s reelection.