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Rosie O'Donnell was a proud mom on Tuesday after being joined by two of her kids, Blake and Vivian O'Donnell, backstage at her one-woman show, "Rosie O'Donnell: Common Knowledge".
Blake, 26, and Vivian, 23, were all smiles as they posed with their comedienne mother and Blake's wife, Teresa, at the Daryl Roth Theatre in New York City. Blake arrived in a white tee and black jacket while Vivian opted for an all-white look, and Rosie wore a black graphic shirt.
Her three other children, Parker, 31, Chelsea, 28, and Clay, 13, were not pictured. The actress now lives in Ireland with Clay, yet shared with People that she keeps in close contact with Blake, Vivian and Parker, and has visited Chelsea in prison after she was charged with drug possession.
"People sometimes say, 'That's so great that you adopted. You saved those kids.' And I say, 'Those kids saved me,'" the 64-year-old said of her adoption journey.
"Each kid was like a floatie, and I was staying afloat because of my desire to give them a loving family that said 'I love you,' which was never said in my house. Every time I hang up the phone, I say, 'I love you,' and my kids say, 'Yeah, Mom, you've told us.'"
Rosie continued: "I love the fact that my kids still need me. My son Blake said, 'Mommy, I want you to move back to be around my baby' – and that really hit home. The joy that I feel being around him and this newborn, I don't have the words for it."
She added that raising Clay, who is nonbinary and autistic, has taught her more about the world than ever before. "Clay's vulnerability has forced me to be more connected and attached and for us to be close in a way that I hadn't been with my other kids," Rosie told the outlet.
"Autism is so miraculously curious. Clay understands very big concepts for a kid who's only 13. They said to me once, 'Do you realize that Cleopatra lived closer to the invention of the iPhone than she did to the completion of the Pyramids of Giza? Common knowledge.' Hence the name of my show."
Rosie's return to the stage comes after she underwent a major weight loss transformation, as well as a facelift, which she documented online. The star was long ridiculed about her weight, and industry peers even joined in to her dismay.
"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?" Rosie told People. "On League of Their Own, [director] Penny Marshall didn't help by saying, 'Rosie, I want you to lose 20 lbs.' I'm like, 'You think I carry it around for fun, Penny?'"
The mother of five added: "When I look back, I go, 'God, I wish I could have enjoyed the size I was.' I'm now at that same weight. But I feel much healthier, more powerful in my own physicality."
