The former “Queen of Nice,” Rosie O’Donnell, spends most of her time making folks laugh, but has also evoked some cringing of the masses, with her outspoken political ideologies.

O’Donnell was born in New York, on March 21, 1962, to Roseann and Edward Joseph O’Donnell, and has four siblings. Tragedy struck the family when her mother died of breast cancer, and was buried on O’Donnell’s 11th birthday. Despite the loss of her beloved mother, O’Donnell went on to become a popular cut-up in high school, who was serious long enough to be elected as the senior class president.

O’Donnell was a college drop-out who, in 1984, made the big time on Star Search as a comedian. Her discovery, by Ed McMahon’s daughter, and her success in the competition, led her to Los Angeles, the city of the stars.

Just two years later, she debuted on television in a supporting role on Gimme a Break. A movie career followed a few years later, with a lead-off role as a 1940s baseball player in A League of Their Own.

On a more personal note, O’Donnell adopted son, Parker Jaren in 1995, and with a desire to spend more time with her child, she persuaded Warner Bros. to let her host and executive produce a variety show named after herself. She not only was a success, but in 2002, she also trumped Oprah Winfrey in Emmy wins when she won her sixth successive Emmy as outstanding talk show host.

In 1997, Chelsea Belle was added to the family and O’Donnell began to quietly date Kelli Carpenter, a marketing executive. The two adopted son Blake Christopher just a few years after beginning their relationship, but did not publicly come out of the closet until 2002. Shortly before Carpenter delivered daughter Vivienne Rose,  O’Donnell revealed the truth of her sexuality to Diane Sawyer in an interview. The couple married in California in 2004, but by 2007, the relationship had crumbled, although the rumors were not confirmed until two years later.

In 2006, O’Donnell returned to daytime television when she replaced Meredith Viera on The View. Her hostile behavior with her co-hosts lead to her quick demise as “one of the girls,” but left her with enough time on her hands to write her memoir Celebrity Detox.

O’Donnell has already jumped back into dating and is currently involved with Open Arms Campaign activist and mother of six, Tracy Kachtick-Anders. Her latest work is the HBO documentary, A Family Is A Family Is A Family: A Rosie O’Donnell Celebration.