Rosie O'Donnell Gets Wrist Tattoo of Child Clay's Pronoun

Comedian Rosie O'Donnell got the word "they" tattooed on her left wrist to remind herself of the pronouns used by her 13-year-old nonbinary child, Clay. The 64-year-old comedian discussed the tattoo during an appearance on Amy Poehler's podcast Good Hang on Tuesday. Clay, formerly known as Dakota, came out as nonbinary in 2024 at the age of 12.

O'Donnell explained on the podcast that adjusting to gender-neutral pronouns was challenging at first. "It's very hard, honey. And [gender-neutral pronouns] really matters to them and I know it matters to them. And so when they first told me that it was they/them, I tried my best, but I kept saying 'she,'" O'Donnell admitted.

To help her mother remember, Clay created a visual aid at home. "And so they wrote on a cardboard paper, 'they,' and then they would hold it up above their head every time I said 'She' like John Cusack in Say Anything, with the boombox just staring at me," O'Donnell recalled.

Following the cardboard sign reminder, O'Donnell brought Clay and the handwritten poster to her cousin's tattoo shop to have "they" inked on her left wrist. "I had it tattooed on my wrist so that I would never forget, that it would remind me. And I thought she'd be very touched, she didn't give two s***s. She could not care less," the Gen-Xer said.

Noticing her own pronoun slip during the podcast interview, O'Donnell added, "I just [said she] again in the 'they' story! I messed it up!" Back in 2024, O'Donnell revealed to NBC 5 Chicago that Clay, who was 10 at the time, had educated her on sex and gender by saying, "Mommy, [genitalia] is their sex. That's binary. I'm talking about their gender. And gender is infinite."

Family Life and Move to Ireland

O'Donnell adopted Clay during her two-year marriage to her late second ex-wife, Michelle Rounds, which ended in 2015. The Dublin-based Long Island native and Clay moved to Ireland in January 2025 ahead of President Donald Trump's second term.

The 12-time Emmy winner is also the adoptive mother of four older children from her three-year relationship with her first ex-wife, Kelli Carpenter, which ended in 2007. Her older children are son Parker, 31, daughter Chelsea, 28, son Blake, 26, and daughter Vivienne, 23. O'Donnell is also a silver-haired grandmother-of-five.

The comedian famously came out as a lesbian during a stand-up set at Caroline's Comedy Club in New York City in February 2002. That announcement occurred four months before she concluded her daytime talk show following six seasons. Daily Mail reached out to O'Donnell's representative for comment but did not immediately receive a response.

Stand-Up Show and Upcoming Screen Roles

Last Saturday, O'Donnell concluded her one-woman show, Rosie O'Donnell: Common Knowledge, after 12 performances at the Daryl Roth Theatre in New York City. The comedian said she "can't wait" to guest host a week of episodes of ABC's Jimmy Kimmel Live from August 17-20 while titular host Jimmy Kimmel, 58, enjoys his summer vacation.

The Substack streamer will next portray Brenda in director Frankie Shaw's black comedy heist film 4 Kids Walk Into a Bank, which hits US theaters next month, alongside co-stars Liam Neeson and Jim Sturgess. As a producer of the Hulu documentary Unleashing Hope, O'Donnell will compete for the outstanding daytime special trophy at the 53rd Daytime Emmy Awards, which stream on October 30 at watch.theemmys.tv. O'Donnell has also previously spoken about her dramatic weight loss.