Rosie O'Donnell's 5 Kids: All About Parker, Blake, Chelsea, Vivienne and Clay

Mar. 15, 2025

Photo: Rosie O’Donnell Instagram

Rosie O’Donnellis both a mother and grandmother.

The actress and comedian has welcomed five children since 1995: Parker, 29, Chelsea, 27, Blake, 25, Vivienne, 22, and Clay, 12.

But between teenage drama, public spats, arrests and custody battles, it hasn’t always been an easy ride for the star.

Rosie O’Donnell Instagram

In 2022, O’Donnell opened up to PEOPLE in apersonal essay about Clay’s autism diagnosis, writing, “[Their] autism forces me to see the world from a completely different place. [Clay’s] a gift from another dimension. It’s been a wonderfully magical experience. I’m so glad we have each other.”

More recently, O’Donnell’s daughter, Chelsea, has made headlines followingmultiple arrestsrelated to drug possession, and in March 2025, O’Donnell confirmed herpermanent relocation to Irelandwith Clay.

“You know, I’m happy. Clay is happy,” she said onTikTok. “I miss my other kids. I miss my friends. When it is safe for all citizens to have equal rights there in America, that’s when we will consider coming back.”

Here’s everything to know about the O’Donnell family.

Parker Jaren O’Donnell, 29

O’Donnell adopted her first child, Parker O’Donnell, in 1995. He was born on May 25, 1995. The comedian was initially a single mother to Parker, but her former wifeKelli Carpenterlater became his legal parent, too.

Parker enrolled in the Valley Forge Military Academy and is currently in the Marines. “How do you annoy your left-wing, liberal, pacifist mother? You become a big military man,” she joked onThe Viewin 2014.

Frederick M. Brown/Getty

He is also a devoted partner to his longtime love, Hannah. In October 2021, O’Donnellshared a sweet pictureof the couple with the caption, “happy 7th anniversary to parker n hannah #kidsgrownup.”

Chelsea Belle O’Donnell, 27

Bruce Glikas/Bruce Glikas/FilmMagic

In August 2015, O’Donnell announced Chelsea had gone missing from their New York home. She wasfound a week laterand subsequently moved to Wisconsin to live with her birth mother, Deanna Micoley. “Chelsea made a decision when she turned 18 that she wanted to go to her birth mother. This was her choice,” O’Donnell’s publicist Cindi Berger told PEOPLE at the time.

The comedian maintained her wish for her family was one for “love and peace.”

In 2017, Chelsea sat down for an on-air interview withInside Editionalongside her then-husband Nick Alliegro. “Growing up, I never really got along with her and then once she kicked me out, I was just kind of done,“she said. “I miss the rest of my family a lot but I think there is some much-needed space between me and Rosie. It’s been nice having that,” she added.

The following year,O’Donnell and Chelsea reconnectedover Chelsea’s pregnancy. After Chelsea’s boyfriend Jacob Bourassa shared a picture of the sonogram on Facebook, a rep for O’Donnell told PEOPLE they had begun to reestablish contact.

Rosie O’Donnell Twitter

In 2018, the staropened up about her relationship with her daughteronThe Talk, saying, “I think with my relationship with my daughter, Chelsea, (the relationship being tested did make it stronger) because we went through some really public troubled times. She’s doing better now and we’re both communicating with each other. When somebody does something unforgivable to you and you can forgive them and they can forgive you, there’s a kind of grace that descends upon the both of you, within that.”

Chelsea is now a mom of four. She welcomed daughterRileyin January 2021; daughterAvery Lynnin February 2022; and sonAtlasin October 2023.

In September 2024, Chelsea was arrested on felony child neglect and drug possession charges. She was arrested again on similar charges a month later.

In her caption, O’Donnell wrote, “sadly this is not new for our family - chelsea has struggled with drug addiction for a decade - we r all hopeful she will find her way out of this deadly disease #💔 #love #alanon 10.19.24.”

Chelsea wasarrested for a third timein November 2024 on two felony counts of possession of methamphetamine, a felony count of possession of narcotic drugs and two felony counts of bail jumping.

Blake Christopher O’Donnell, 25

The youngest boy of the O’Donnell bunch, Blake, keeps his life very private. Born on Dec. 5, 1999, he was the third child that O’Donnell and Carpenter adopted together during their relationship.

In December 2022, Rosie announcedher son’s engagementin an Instagram post. Blake proposed to Teresa Garofalow Westervelt during a Broadway performance ofPhantom of the Opera.

“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,” shecaptioned the post.

The couple eventuallywed on Aug. 16, 2024, during a lavish ceremony, where Blake’s sister Vivienne served as his “best man.”

Vivienne Rose O’Donnell, 22

Vivienne is the fourth child O’Donnell shares with ex-wife Carpenter. She wasborn on Nov. 29, 2002, and is now enrolled at theUniversity of Delaware.

WhenVivienne graduated from high schoolin 2021, her mother just couldn’t contain her pride. “Vivi and jackie - as vivi graduates from hs - hard to believe- im so proud of u honey - u r a wonderful young woman #vivi #graduation #love,“O’Donnell wrote on Instagram.

Vivienne and her mother share a passion for social media, as O’Donnell revealed they spent time learning TikTok dances during quarantine. “I’m in the middle of a pandemic with a 17-year-old, trying to make her happy,” shetold Seth Meyers.

O’Donnell readily admitted Vivienne’s childhood “wasn’t a normal (one) like all of her friends.” In a candid TikTok,theRoseanneactresssaid, “It’s okay, you’re allowed to express your feelings in our family, even if you do it online in a funny manner.”

In another TikTok, Vivienne shared the hilarious story of how she realized the family friend she knew as “Mo” was none other thanMadonna. “At my birthday parties, this beautiful woman would always come, and I was like, ‘Yeah, there’s Mo,’ " she shared. “I never had any idea who the f— she was. … Then I find out it was Madonna all these years.”

Clay O’Donnell, 12

Chloe Aftel

Less than a year after O’Donnellmarried her second wife,Michelle Rounds, the couple adopted Clay, who was born on Jan. 5, 2013.

“I am saddened to hear about this terrible tragedy,” O’Donnelltold PEOPLE in a statement. “Mental illness is a very serious issue affecting many families. My thoughts and prayers go out to Michelle’s family, her wife and their child.”

In September 2022,O’Donnell penned an emotional essay for PEOPLEand opened up about Clay’s autism diagnosis for the first time.

“I didn’t want [Clay] to feel shame about [their] diagnosis,” O’Donnell shared. “I have told [them] from the start that autism is [their] superpower.”

She added, “I am learning to have compassion much deeper than I ever did. To really listen and communicate in a way I never had to with my other kids. The sense of vulnerability that comes with having a kid with autism has been a gift to me.”

The comedian also recalled the moment that Clay asked to meet their birth mother. “We’re in contact, so [Clay] gets on FaceTime and says, ‘Are you the lady whose tummy I was in? I just wanted you to know I’m the kid that was in there, and when I got born, my mommy held me and I squeezed her pinkie, and I am with her. So I just want to let you know that’s what happened to me. Bye,’ " O’Donnell recalled.

“I was in tears as was [their] birth mom,” she wrote. “That’s a pretty intense, complex, emotional thing for [Clay] to put together.” Speaking about all her children, O’Donnell added, “I think about the birth mothers every day.”

On Jan. 15, 2025, O’Donnell and Clay moved to Ireland. In a TikTok video, the comedian and actress seemingly explained that their permanent relocation was due to the reelection ofPresident Donald Trump.

source: people.com