Rosie O'Donnell

American actress, comedienne and talk show host, immensely popular. Rosie earned two Emmy awards in 1998 for "Outstanding Talk Show" and "Outstanding Talk Show Host" (the latter for which she illustriously tied with established talk show great, Oprah Winfrey).

Rosie’s dad designed cameras for spy satellites and her mom was a homemaker. When she was ten years old, her mom died of cancer, leaving Rosie and her four brothers and sisters to fend for themselves emotionally. The girl often escaped into the imaginary world of film and TV. She caught the acting bug while doing a high school skit and studied comedy by imitation. Soon using her own material, she honed her presentation. Already outgoing by high school, Rosie was elected prom queen, homecoming queen, most school-spirited student, and class president. After graduation, she took it upon herself to make a grand tour of the U.S., appearing in 49 states over a five-year period. She learned about applause – and also about the underbelly of working nights, eating junk food, drugs and drinking, and the sexist climate.

In 1984, she landed in Los Angeles where she began TV gigs on cable. She hosted "Stand-Up Spotlight" for comedy acts for four years. In 1992, after appearing in several TV specials, Rosie made a much-desired and anticipated move to film when Penny Marshall cast her as Madonna’s loveable sidekick in "A League of Their Own." She began a trend of making praiseworthy performances in a variety of films.

In 1995, she accepted a post as host of a variety talk show for NBC, "The Rosie O’Donnell Show," featuring such attractions as celebrity guests and Broadway performances. The show quickly became one of the most popular in daytime television, and O’Donnell was hailed as the "Queen of Nice" due to her down-to-earth frankness and eye-to-eye sense of humor.