The comic and TV personality opened up to ET about her family, and her new podcast, 'Onward With Rosie O'Donnell.'
Onward and upward! Rosie O'Donnell is examining her life as a mother, a grandmother and entertainer through the lens of her new podcast series -- Onward With Rosie O'Donnell -- as she begins what she refers to as the third chapter in her life.
ET's Denny Directo recently sat down with O'Donnell, who reflected on her family and life after just celebrating her 61st birthday on Tuesday.
"I'm one who enjoys getting older," O'Donnell shared. "Because my mom died at 39, so I remember thinking, 'God, is it gonna be over when I'm 40?' And here I am 61 and it shocks me every single year."
"Sometimes I look in the mirror [or] I catch a glimpse and I go, 'Oh, there's an old lady! Oh, no, it's me,'" she joked. "Like the physical changes, you don't see yourself as you are, you know? [But] it's just wonderful."
O'Donnell explained, "I'm glad I have the opportunity to grow up and to be here for my kids and to get to enjoy life, because of all the immense gifts that I've been given."
Reflecting on her idea regarding the chapters in the book of her life's story, O'Donnell broke down how she views the phases of growing up.
"I feel like 0 to 30, you're just figuring out what's going on. Then, 30 to 60, you're having kids, you're getting married, you're getting divorced, you're figuring out your life. And then 60 on, you have to decide how much quality time is left and what do I wanna do with it," she shared. "What do I wanna do? How is there something that can make it easy to do, [something] creative, but will still keep me home?"
She's also enjoying watching her five children grow up and live their own lives. Sharing an update on her kids, O'Donnell explained that her oldest, 27-year-old Parker, is now out of the Marines and has gotten a job doing something he's loved for a long time.
"He's working at a gaming business where he makes the Warhammer models," O'Donnell shared. "And he's loved that since he was a little kid."
Meanwhile, her 23-year-old son, Blake, just got engaged in December to his longtime girlfriend, Teresa, in New York City at a Broadway production of The Phantom of the Opera.
"And in between them, we have Chelsea, who has three babies, and she lives in Wisconsin," O'Donnell gushed. "It's hard to believe and it's hard to not, you know, steal them and just take them home with me and go, 'You know what? They're mine now!'"
"Then we have Vivi, who's in college and on the dean's list, I'm proud to say," O'Donnell said of her 20-year-old daughter, Vivienne.
Finally, O'Donnell also has a 10-year-old daughter, Dakota, who O'Donnell hopes will be a part of her podcast in the future.
"She said she would have conversations with me. She knows a lot of facts. She has autism, she's very verbal, and she enjoys doing the little TikTok videos," O'Donnell explained. "So I said, 'Will you come and sit down with me in front of the microphone, and we can just talk?' So we're gonna try it and see what happens, you know?"
"It's a blessing," she added of getting the chance to watch her kids grow into adulthood and share those memories with them. "My mom never got to experience any of this, you know, and I'm so happy that I almost feel like I'm doing it with her, you know?"
As for her new podcast, O'Donnell is hoping to interview friends, artists and interesting people with unique looks at life, and she's been "very lucky" when it comes to finding good subjects.
"I have wonderful friends and I've met some great people. And I get to talk to artists that fascinate and inspire me and to real people going through struggles," O'Donnell said, adding that every new perspective and story is something "I need in my life."
Onward With Rosie O'Donnell is distributed by iHeartPodcasts as part of its Outspoken Podcast Network, with new episodes dropping every Tuesday.
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