A comedian, actor, talk show host, and producer, Rosie O’Donnell, has had a busy career since the ‘80s—but that hasn’t stopped her from building an equally busy family life with her five children. During her first marriage to Kelli Carpenter, the television personality welcomed her first four children, and later added a fifth to her brood with her second wife, the late Michelle Rounds. While many Hollywood offspring dream of following in their famous parents’ footsteps, Rosie’s kids—who range in age from eight to 25—are unique in how different they all seem to be. Read on to find out what Rosie O’Donnell’s kids are up to now, and for more on your favorite celebrity families, See David Bowie and Iman's Daughter at 20.
1 | Parker Jaren O'Donnell
Astrid Stawiarz/Getty Images for Family Equality CouncilRosie and Kelli adopted their first child, a son named Parker, in May 1995 when he was just a newborn.
Today, at 25, Parker O'Donnell is married and serves as a Marine. “He chose on his own. He actually begged to go to a military academy,” Rosie told Access Hollywood (via Us Weekly). For two years, she told him to forget it. “Truth is, since he was a little boy, that’s his area of interest. The same way I love Barbra Streisand and Bette Midler, and entertainment, he can tell you any general in any war, what kind of tanks they had, what the battles were like. So I finally gave in and truthfully, he’s excelling and he’s very happy,” she said of her son. And for the latest entertainment news sent straight to your inbox, sign up for our daily newsletter!
2 | Chelsea Belle O'Donnell
Bruce Glikas/FilmMagic via Getty ImagesRosie and her daughter Chelsea O'Donnell have reportedly had a rocky relationship over the years, and according to People, they became estranged when Chelsea was 18. However, the two reconciled shortly before Chelsea gave birth to her first child, Skylar Rose, making Rosie a grandmother for the first time (she’s now a grandmother of two). “It was something really beautiful,” she gushed on Late Night with Seth Meyers. “It’s very trite, but it’s what everyone says: when you’re a grandparent, it’s like [having] a baby times a million. And that’s what it felt like.”
3 | Blake Christopher O'Donnell
D Dipasupil/Getty Images for PFLAG NationalRosie and Kelli’s third child, Blake O'Donnell, is now 21 and an undergraduate student at Marist College in New York. “Dropped off my boy,” Rosie wrote in an Instagram post in 2018, commemorating Blake's first day in his college dorm room. “Hard to believe,” she added.
Blake has kept his personal life largely private, outside of sharing a few pictures with his girlfriend, Teresa. However, that doesn’t stop Rosie from gushing over him on social media: “Look at my stunning son!” she captioned a smiling selfie of Blake. And to see more celeb kids all grown up, See Antonio Banderas and Melanie Griffith's Daughter Stella Now.
4 | Vivienne Rose O'Donnell
Dave Kotinsky via Getty ImagesVivienne "Vivi" O'Donnell, now 18, is Rosie and Kelli’s fourth and final child.
With a love of fitness and performing, Vivi’s social media accounts are full of fun beach snaps and playful mother-daughter TikTok dance routines. She and Rosie appear to have a close relationship, though The View host has also shared that her kids are largely independent at this point.
"They're really separate countries," O'Donnell told People about living in COVID lockdown with her three youngest children. "Everyone's in their own rooms and there's not a lot of talk until, 'What do you want to order for dinner?' Then they all come down and we have a good 15 minutes. [Then] they take their food and go back to their hovels."
5 | Dakota O'Donnell
The one exception to that rule is Dakota O'Donnell, Rosie's youngest daughter, whom she adopted with her second wife. "She's like Velcro—I can't get her off of me," Rosie joked of living in lockdown with Dakota, now eight. "She's like, 'This is great, not having to go to school and getting to play with you all the time, Mommy.'"
Judging from Rosie’s Instagram, it’s true that the two spend a lot of time together. At least half of the actor’s photos are of her youngest child out and about in New York City or at home with their Australian shepherd puppy, Ziggy. And for more insight into A-listers' families, See What Celine Dion's Twins Look Like Now.
