Roseanne Barr is a polarizing figure, but it's impossible to deny that she's left her
mark on popular culture. From a sitcom queen to a controversial reality star,
Barr has experienced many personal and professional transformations
since the 1980s - unfortunately, some have come at quite a cost.
Long before she hit paydirt as the star of a mega-successful sitcom, Roseanne Barr was
an aspiring writer who was paying the bills as a waitress in Colorado. Then in 1980, Barr decided
to make the leap and try her hand at stand-up comedy. She became a regular at clubs around
the region, perfecting her act and eventually developing her "Domestic Goddess" persona.
After winning the Denver Laff-Off contest in 1983, Barr moved to Los Angeles where she quickly gained a following.
Just a couple years later, she made a career-making appearance on the Tonight
Show with Johnny Carson. Then in 1988, Barr's very first HBO special, "The Roseanne Barr Show,"
earned the comedian the American Comedy Award for Funniest Female Performer in a TV Special.
In 1987, Marcy Carsey and Tom Werner, executive producers of "The Cosby Show," were looking to
create a show about a blue-collar American family. And, of course, Barr's no-nonsense
brand of "Domestic Goddess" humor seemed like the perfect fit for their vision.
Because Barr was new to acting, Carsey and Werner sought experienced, talented actors to cast as
her family so that she could learn from them. According to "Roseanne" writer Matt Williams,
he knew the team had a good thing going when John Goodman was brought in to read with Barr.
Williams recalled to Entertainment Weekly…
"He looked at Roseanne, and said, 'Scoot over.' She said,
'Shut up,' and he plopped down, and it was like they had been married for 16 years."
Barr says she fell in love with Goodman the second she met him. He was the only actor to
read for the role of Dan Conner, Roseanne's lovable husband. After casting Goodman,
Barr and the "Roseanne" producers carefully casted the remaining members of the iconic Conner clan
with the likes of Lecy Goranson, Michael Fishman, Sara Gilbert, and Laurie Metcalf. The chemistry
was obvious and just like that, one of the most beloved American families on television was born.
When Barr gathered with some of the cast to watch her show's network television premiere,
something unexpected appeared on the screen, the words "Created by Matt Williams."
While Williams maintained that The Writers Guild of America is to blame for the credits fiasco,
Barr didn't buy his explanation.
She told Entertainment Weekly…
"I was the writer. It wasn't that it was based off my life - it's
that I wrote it. I created it. I thought it up. I lived it."
As the show grew more popular, Barr's working relationship with Williams worsened - eventually
leading to his departure from the series. But Williams wasn't the only writer that Barr had an issue with.
Amy Sherman-Palladino, creator of "Gilmore Girls," feels Barr diminished her
worth during her time on the writing staff of "Roseanne." She told Entertainment Weekly
that Barr would assign each writer a number in lieu of taking the time to learn their names.
Barr might be a "Domestic Goddess," but she's far from your typical housewife — just ask any
of her ex-husbands. After divorcing her first husband, Bill Pentland,
in January 1990, Barr went on to wed fellow comedian Tom Arnold that same month.
According to Entertainment Weekly, at their wedding reception, Arnold exclaimed that he
and Barr were, quote, "America's worst nightmare: white trash with money."
Highly visible and controversial,
the couple seemed to be a favorite of the tabloids throughout the early '90s.
Then in 1994, after four tumultuous years of marriage, the couple called it quits.
"Well, I'm out of here."
One year later, Barr married her former bodyguard, Ben Thomas,
but it ultimately ended in 2002. Barr would later say that the two simply "weren't a good match."
Coincidentally, 2002 is the year Barr met the man with whom she's shared her longest-lasting
romantic relationship, Johnny Argent. Barr said she thought he was the most
handsome man she'd ever seen. It also seems like he knows how to make her laugh...
"You know, people say to me,
'Does Roseanne have an anger management problem?' And I say, 'Can she hear me?'"
There's no doubt that the show "Roseanne" is the project for which Barr is most widely
known, but it certainly wasn't the comedian's only small screen venture.
Following the series finale of her groundbreaking sitcom, Barr returned to
television as the host of her very own daytime talk show, aptly titled "The Roseanne Show."
"It's going to be everything," Barr said of the talk show before its September 1998 premiere,
lauding her newest project as upbeat, controversial, and funny.
But "The Roseanne Show" didn't hold a candle to the sitcom that made Barr a household name,
and low ratings brought the talk show to an end in 2000 - only two years after its premiere.
Never one to rest on past accomplishments, Barr promptly started working on her next project,
which was called "The Real Roseanne Show." It documented Barr's adventures creating and hosting
"Domestic Goddess," a new cooking series. However, Barr's emergency hysterectomy delayed production,
and "The Real Roseanne Show" was canceled two days after its 2003 premiere.
Barr came back full-force and nuttier than ever in 2011 with a brand new show titled "Roseanne's Nuts."
The reality show aired on Lifetime and followed Barr's experiences as a macadamia
nut farmer in Hawaii. Unfortunately, the plug was pulled after one season.
A highly anticipated revival run of "Roseanne" premiered in March 2018 on ABC, but Barr had long
been planning to bring her famous character back to life. In fact, way back in 2009,
Barr took to her blog to post a series of cryptic story ideas in a post titled "Reunion Show."
Among the list of possible plot lines was "Darlene meets a woman and they have a test tube baby,"
"Mortgage before the house is foreclosed on," and "Dan shows up alive after faking his death."
When it was announced in May 2017 that "Roseanne" would be coming back to ABC for a tenth season,
fans immediately began to speculate on how the show would explain Dan coming back from the grave,
since he died in a previous season. The writers of the new show went for
the easiest way to deal with his death: They pretended like it never happened. Although,
they did drop a couple references to Dan's temporary demise.
"I thought you were dead!"
"I'm sleeping. Why does everyone always think I'm dead?"
Fans were excited when the reboot of "Roseanne" aired in 2018, but the revival didn't last long,
at least in its original form. The show's issues didn't have anything to do with low ratings.
In fact, the series was renewed for another season after just one episode aired. So what went wrong?
The problem was the star of the show.
In a now-deleted tweet,
Barr described Valerie Jarrett, the one-time advisor to former President Barack Obama,
in a racist manner. Barr later chalked up the offensive tweet to the sleeping pill Ambien.
However, the damage was done and the ensuing backlash led to the cancellation of the show.
Fans still got their reboot, though. While "Roseanne" was canceled, a spin-off that
focused on the rest of the family called "The Conners" took its place. Barr's character was
written off in a shocking way: She died of an opioid overdose. Barr later blamed
on-screen daughter Sara Gilbert for getting her booted off the show, since she was one
of the main critics of Barr's comment about Jarrett. Gilbert posted a tweet that said…
"Roseanne’s recent comments [...] are abhorrent and do not reflect the beliefs of our cast and
crew or anyone associated with our show. I am disappointed in her actions to say the least."
In an interview with The Washington Post, Barr said the following about Gilbert...
“She destroyed the show and my life with that tweet.
She will never get enough until she consumes my liver with a fine Chianti.”
Barr's sitcom may have come to an abrupt end, but her comedy career continued.
After the cancellation of "Roseanne," the actress returned to her roots in stand-up comedy.
Barr had quit stand-up because she was told by ABC that any controversial comments could get reruns
of "Roseanne" pulled off the air. She elaborated on the messy situation to Joe Rogan in 2019.
"Me getting in trouble one more time,
I wouldn't have my reruns anymore. And I live on that, you know?"
After parting ways with the network, Barr decided to return to the stand-up stage in March 2019.
During her first set at the Laugh Factory in Las Vegas, she blasted ABC in an expletive-laden rant,
saying she bailed out the network and brought them the highest ratings in ten years.
Also, in response to her character being killed off, Barr declared, "I ain't dead."
A few months later, Barr and fellow comedian Andrew Dice Clay went on a
tour titled "Mr. and Mrs. America," during which Barr once again took shots at ABC.
Aside from her comedy tour, Barr has largely kept out of the public eye since the shaming
that led to the cancelation of "Roseanne." She does keep fans updated on Instagram,
though, where her admirers have been wowed by her slim physique.
Viewers who have followed Barr's career through the years
probably know that she has worked hard to lose and keep off weight for decades.
In a 2014 appearance on Today, Barr said she was trying to exercise more often.
"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."
In the years since that statement, Barr has kept to her goal. These days,
she's looking fitter than ever and says she feels great. In a March 2021 Instagram post,
Barr flaunted her figure in a form-fitting dress, captioning it...
"Feeling good, looking better."
In another post, she revealed the secret to maintaining her figure, writing...
"Losing weight thru relentless gardening."
Check out one of our newest videos right here!
Plus, even more List videos about your favorite celebrities are coming soon.
Subscribe to our YouTube channel and hit the bell so you don't miss a single one.