American performer and talk-show host Rosie O’Donnell was BOTD in 1962. Born in New York to an Irish immigrant family, she studied at Boston University before dropping out to pursue a career in stand-up comedy. After touring on the comedy circuit, she had her big break on talent show Star Search, then moved into TV sitcoms. She made her film debut in A League of Their Own, briefly befriending her co-star Madonna. Her other film roles ranged from the good (Beautiful Girls) to the so-so (Sleepless in Seattle) to the very bad (The Flintstones, Exit to Eden). She went on to host her own daytime talk show, The Rosie O’Donnell Show. Known as “The Queen of Nice” for her un-sensationalist approach to celebrity interviews and easy rapport with audiences, the show was a ratings success, winning multiple Daytime Emmy awards. After the Columbine school shootings in 1999, she advocated for stricter gun control laws, frequently locking heads with the National Rifle Association and discontinuing her endorsement contract with Kmart in protest at their sale of firearms. In 2006, she became the moderator of daytime talk show The View, increasing the show’s political content and disagreeing with her conservative co-hosts over the Bush administration, the Iraq War and abortion rights. After stating that Donald Trump was not a moral authority for young people in America, Trump instigated a media hate-storm against her, prompting her to leave the show. She launched The Rosie Show in 2011, which was cancelled due to poor ratings. In recent years, she has appeared in TV series Curb Your Enthusiasm, Will and Grace, Mom, SMILF and The L Word and the film I Know This Much Is True. She came out as a lesbian in 2002, primarily to voice her support for gay marriage and adoption rights. Married and divorced twice, she has five children. In 2025, she announced she had relocated to Ireland, following Donald Trump’s re-election as President of the United States.