It's safe to say Roseanne Barr has had one of the most interesting, and talked about,
careers in all of Hollywood.
She entertained millions of viewers during her tenure on "Roseanne" but she's also stirred
the pot plenty of times.
Here's how she's transformed over the years.
Roseanne Barr lived in Colorado for more than a decade, getting her start in comedy and
performing while juggling a gig as a waitress.
After winning the Denver Laff-Off contest in 1983, Barr moved to Los Angeles, California.
There, she got an instant taste of success.
Before ever having to work up an acting résumé, Barr's enjoyable nature and quick quips earned
her an interview with Marcy Carsey and Tom Werner, two executive producers of "The Cosby
Show."
As Entertainment Weekly reported in 2007, the producers — in addition to writer Matt
Williams — wanted to make a sitcom about a working class family, so they enlisted Barr,
who had recently done a well-received stand-up routine on 'The Tonight Show.'
While hiring a, quote, "inexperienced" actor seemed like risky business, the trio had no
qualms about casting Barr when she auditioned with John Goodman.
Writer, Matt Williams told EW,
"The linchpin — and, I'm convinced, the key to the series — was John Goodman.
We brought him in the room, he looked at Roseanne, and said, 'Scoot over.'
She said, 'Shut up,' he plopped down, and it was like they had been married for 16 years."
As for Barr, the chemistry was just as electric as the show creators thought.
She told EW,
"Goodman was the only person who read for the role.
There were more planned, but the second I met that guy, I fell in love with him."
Roseanne Barr and John Goodman quickly stole the hearts of viewers with their incredibly
relatable on-screen romance, as well as their characters' hectic lives as working-class
parents.
The hit series premiered in October 1988 and completely changed the game for sitcoms.
"Roseanne" aired for nine seasons and ran more than 200 episodes, coming to a halt in
May 1997.
During the Emmy award-winning show's 20-year reunion in 2008, Barr reflected on how "Roseanne"
has continued to serve a bigger purpose despite ending more than a decade earlier.
She told Entertainment Weekly,
"I'm very proud of its timelessness, and the fact that it has a political edge that is
even more relevant now than it was then.
I'm proud of the fact that it's never gone off the air for 20 years."
While "Roseanne" definitely garnered her an A-list status, Barr also picked up plenty
of other credits throughout the '90s.
She appeared in "Backfield in Motion" in 1991, "Even Cowgirls Get the Blues" in 1993, "Women
of the House" in 1995, and "The Nanny" in 1997.
She also tested her talents behind the camera, working as a producer on "Tom Arnold: The
Naked Truth," "Cherry Street, South of Main," and "The Roseanne Show."
Amid her success on "Roseanne" and beyond, Roseanne Barr was also experiencing love in
her life.
She went through a divorce from her first husband, Bill Pentland, in January 1990, after
16 years of marriage.
However, after the divorce she moved on to her second spouse, Tom Arnold, that same month.
But, the couple wasn't regarded as Hollywood's sweethearts and they certainly didn't think
that either as Arnold proclaimed to Entertainment Weekly,
"We're America's worst nightmare: white trash with money!"
However, their fleeting love story came to an end in 1994.
In 1995, she married her bodyguard/chauffeur Ben Thomas, who is the father of her son,
Buck Thomas.
The union ultimately didn't last, though, as they split in 2002.
One year later, Barr admitted, during an interview with People, that the two, quote, "weren't
a good match".
The TV personality is also the mom of her older children from her first marriage to
Bill Pentland And, when she was 18 she gave birth to daughter Brandi Brown, but placed
her up for adoption.
Since 2003, Barr has been in a long-term relationship with writer and musician Johnny Argent.
The comic described their relationship to People as, quote, "two individuals who respect
each other."
Following the conclusion of "Roseanne" in 1997, Roseanne Barr continued her work in
Hollywood while juggling her romance with Johnny Argent and her role as a mom.
Throughout the early 2010s, she made appearances in many fan-favorite shows.
These included "Portlandia," "The Office," "The Millers," and she also voiced a character
in "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" from 2013 to 2014.
Amid the boom of revivals in the late 2010s, "Roseanne" was picked up for a reboot in 2018.
Barr, John Goodman, and the rest of the original cast revealed they would all be back.
At the time, the comedian couldn't believe she was reviving the iconic character of Roseanne.
She joked with AARP The Magazine,
"Every day, I pinch myself and wonder, is this the most fun in the world or the onset
of dementia?"
However, "Roseanne" ended after 9 episodes after Barr made a racist statement on Twitter.
ABC Entertainment president Channing Dungey announced in a statement that,
"[The tweet was] repugnant and inconsistent with our values,"
ABC immediately canceled the series, and Barr responded by taking to Twitter to express
her disappointment in both the network and her co-stars for turning their backs.
The outspoken supporter of then-president Donald Trump wrote,
"I feel bad for @POTUS – he goes thru this every single day."
For Roseanne Barr, fame has definitely been a slippery slope throughout the last few decades.
That's why the comedian is happier than ever living her life out of the spotlight following
the Twitter controversy.
During a February 2018 interview on ABC's 20/20, Barr confessed the rise and peak of
her Hollywood superstardom was a tumultuous experience.
She said,
"I did have a few nervous breakdowns and was hospitalized several times.
It was very difficult.
Fame was difficult, too, but this time I'm like, 'OK, I'm 65.
Thank God I've got Social Security now so I don't have to worry.'"
Fortunately, Barr has a lot more to keep her going, including the healthy lifestyle she
adapted years ago, which helped her lose — and keep off — about 100 pounds.
Barr told Today in 2014
"I went on a new diet.
It's radical and revolutionary.
It's where you eat less and move more — you know, just simple.
I just want to keep getting healthy and let go of excess baggage to carry around, so I'm
lighter on my feet and in my life."
These days, Barr is also a doting grandmother and seems to be happy.
"Granddaughter makes a 'Roseanne' face!" she captioned a pic of her grandchild in June.
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