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Rosie O’Donnell has revealed that late Hollywood director Penny Marshall urged her to “lose 20 pounds” when they were filming baseball movie A League of Their Own.
The former talk show host opened up about the surprising on-set comment as she reflected on her recent 60-pound weight loss after taking Mounjaro to treat diabetes, and how her relationship with her body has changed over the years. Rosie admitted that concerns about her appearance often overshadowed other aspects of her career, revealing she spent years worrying about how she looked rather than focusing on her performances.
She said, “It’s very strange to just buy a pair of jeans that fit. When I would do late-night, my biggest concern wasn’t my set — it was, did I look fat?” Recalling her time working on the 1992 hit film, the 64-year-old shared one moment with director Penny that has stayed with her for decades.
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Speaking to People Rosie recalled, “On ‘League of Their Own,’ Penny Marshall didn’t help by saying, ‘Rosie, I want you to lose 20 pounds.’ I’m like, ‘You think I carry it around for fun, Penny?’” The comedian admitted now, “When I look back, I go, ‘God, I wish I could have enjoyed the size I was.’”
Rosie has previously spoken openly about her health journey after beginning treatment with Mounjaro in 2023 to help manage her Type 2 diabetes. Not only has she lost around 60 pounds, she admits she is now “much healthier, more powerful in my own physicality,” despite being “the same weight” she was while filming A League of Their Own more than three decades ago.
Though the memory is painful, Rosie has also made it clear that she held Penny in high regard and has praised the late filmmaker for the impact she had on women’s sport and female representation on screen. During an appearance on the We Can Do Hard Things podcast in January, Rosie described Penny as “a woman’s sports freak” and “feminist,” although she suggested the director never fully embraced the label herself.
Rosie said, “I think she didn’t like to think of herself as a feminist. She was older than me, and I don’t know that she wasn’t an ardent feminist like me.”
She continued, “She was kind of a closeted feminist in some ways. She didn’t necessarily want to have the banner, but she really supported women and women’s sports and women athletes in a way [like] no one else that I had met.”
The actress went on to credit Penny with changing perceptions of women’s athletics through the enduring popularity of A League of Their Own. Rosie said, “She made a profound impact on women’s sports in the history of the United States because of that movie.”
Reflecting on the film’s lasting legacy, she added, “I mean, I see little kids coming to my door dressed as me for Halloween, and they don’t know I’m Doris Murphy.”
Penny, who directed classics including Big and A League of Their Own, died in December 2018 at the age of 75 from complications related to heart disease and diabetes.
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