Rosie O’Donnell is repairing her relationship with her eldest daughter Chelsea.
The comedian exclusively told Page Six that their recent reunion while Chelsea was in prison was “the first time in 10 years that I’ve had a conversation with her that lasted more than 25 minutes.”
“The first time I saw her in a stable manner was during the four hours she was in jail,” she added, noting that Chelsea was crying when the visitation was cut short because of a tornado warning.
“And that was the first time I saw some kind of empathetic emotion from her,” O’Donnell explained.
“I mean, she’s growing up,” she said. “And I hope her future is brighter than the last 10 years.”
The “A League of Their Own” actress, 64, wrote a poem about the visit.
“The security guard explained the rules,” she wrote in part. “Only hugs and goodbyes / No money exchanged / Hands on the table / No shouting allowed.”
O’Donnell wrote that her heart was “pounding” and described Chelsea as “in good spirits” and exuding a “healthy calm”.
In February 2025, Chelsea, a mother of four, appeared in court on felony charges of bail jumping, resisting or obstructing an officer, possession of methamphetamine and child neglect.
She was sentenced to six years’ probation and warned that prison was an option if she violated the requirements of her probation.
In October of the same year, her probation was revoked and she was sentenced to prison.
The View alum said Chelsea, 28, has been “sober for almost two years now, and that’s a huge part of it. You know, she was an addict from birth, so when she adopted her child, she thought, ‘Love will cure everything,’ and I don’t know if that’s true.”
O’Donnell has four other children. son Parker (31), son Parker (31); son Blake, 26; Daughter Bibi, 23 years old. And the youngest child, Clay, is 13 years old.
Her relationship with Chelsea will be the subject of Rosie’s next one-woman show.
“I asked Chelsea for her opinion,” the Emmy winner explained. “I sent it to her and said, ‘I’d love to hear your voice, what I now recognize as your voice…and I think she’s ready to do that now.’
Meanwhile, Rosie’s current show, Common Knowledge, is scheduled to open on Broadway later this month and touches on her childhood, motherhood, and her recent move to Ireland after President Trump’s second term.
The “Sleepless in Seattle” star said he was “not nervous” about the move, saying, “Because I had read Project 2025 and knew what they were planning, and I knew that if it was successful, we would be in huge trouble.”
“I knew the best thing for me was to walk away until everything was fine,” she continued. “And I believe that now the American people have woken up and they understand, as you can see how empty his State Fair was and how drastically his support has decreased since I left.”
