ROSIE O’DONNELL’S DAUGHTER FILES TO DROP HER LAST NAME AFTER $80M WILL SNUB
Chelsea Belle O’Donnell wants a new identity — and it may have everything to do with her mother’s estate.
Family ties are getting even more strained in the O’Donnell household.
Chelsea Belle O’Donnell, the estranged daughter of comedian and TV personality Rosie O’Donnell, has filed legal paperwork to change her last name — after being cut out of her mother’s $80 million will.
The 27-year-old submitted the name change request in January, according to court document. She’s asked to be legally recognized by her birth mother Deanna Micoley’s maiden name: Neuens.
The move comes amid longstanding tension between Rosie and Chelsea, who was adopted as a baby but has had a tumultuous relationship with the former View co-host.
Rosie, now 63, responded not with a statement, but with a 30-stanza free-verse poem posted to her Substack, titled “my child chelsea.”
“she wishes to change her last name / to her birth mom’s maiden name / doesn’t make sense to me / I am not her,” Rosie wrote, grappling publicly with the decision.
The poem touched on the emotional complexity of parenting through conflict, with Rosie acknowledging Chelsea’s progress:
“rain or shine / same name or not / that’s my girl / fierce and determined,” she concluded.
Sources close to the family revealed that Chelsea’s decision came after she learned she was no longer a beneficiary of Rosie’s multimillion-dollar estate — a move that left her hurt and reeling.
While Rosie’s reps declined to comment, it’s clear the wounds between mother and daughter — aired on talk shows and tabloid covers — still run deep.
This isn’t the first time the O’Donnell family has made headlines over personal rifts, but it may be the most symbolic break yet: not just emotional, but legal and lasting.