Biography
Comedian Rosie O'Donnell launched her career in standup before expanding into television, film, and Broadway, where she eventually achieved broad fame as a daytime talk-show host. After studying at Dickinson College and Boston University, she committed to comedy full time. She joined the cast of the NBC sitcom Gimme a Break! as a regular during its final season in 1986 and, six years later, appeared as a co-star on the brief series Stand by Your Man. Her breakthrough in movies arrived in 1992 with A League of Their Own, the World War II drama centered on a women’s baseball league. Subsequent roles as a comic character actress followed quickly, including appearances in Another Stakeout, Sleepless in Seattle, Car 54 Where Are You?, Exit to Eden, The Flintstones, I'll Do Anything, and Now and Then by 1995. That same period also marked her Broadway debut, playing Rizzo in a revival of Grease. During the 1995-1996 season she debuted her own daytime talk show, Rosie, which met with instant popularity. The program dramatically raised her profile, turning her into a prominent celebrity who hosted awards shows and occasionally returned to the screen. In 1999 she supplied the voice of a character in the animated feature Tarzan and contributed vocals to its soundtrack album. Also that year she issued the holiday album A Rosie Christmas, featuring duets with several prominent artists; proceeds supported a children’s charity she had founded. A follow-up holiday collection, Another Rosie Christmas, appeared in 2000.
Albums
