Legendary Sitcom Actress, 72, Reveals Alleged Actor Who Tipped off Tabloid About Daughter She Put up for Adoption originally appeared on Parade.
Love her or hate her, Roseanne Barr, 72, forever change television history with the sitcom after her own namesake. The sitcom that originally aired on ABC lasted for nine seasons by the time it was ended in 1997 and was brought back for a 10th season reboot in 2017. In 2018, the show was abruptly cancelled after the actress shared a racist tweet but was revived as The Conners later that year.
Since then Barr has appeared on several podcasts to give her unfiltered opinion on whatever subject is at hand. Most recently she appeared on Bunnie Xo’s podcast Dumb Blonde, and talked about the story of giving up her first daughter for adoption when she was 17.
Related: Roseanne Barr Fans Call Her a ‘Legend’ After Fiery Statement About Spinoff
Barr recounted that she intended for her daughter to find her one day, intentionally keeping her name as she rose to fame and knew what family she was placed in. She said that while her daughter didn’t know Barr was her mother, she did know her birth mom was famous and in Hollywood (and for the longest time suspected it was Goldie Hawn, 79).
She then said she got a call from National Enquirer, telling her they were going to run the story of the daughter she gave up for adoption. When she asked how they found this out, the reporter allegedly kept it under wraps on who their source was, but she claimed to eventually figure out who told them.
“Who found her was the National Enquirer, because my boyfriend at the time, I found out way later, he went to the Enquirer and told him that I had a baby that I gave up.”
When Bunnie asked if it was the father of the baby, Barr answered without hesitation:
“No, Tom Arnold. Yeah, he’s making a living off telling stories about me, which I didn’t know at the time.”
Barr went on to talk about how that tabloid incident ended up reuniting the two, and they now have a healthy relationship. However fans were not letting the alleged Tom Arnold, 66, revelation slip.
“Tom Arnold was the biggest mistake she ever made,” claimed one fan.
“Dropping a dime on Tom Arnold is hilarious,” added another.
Barr and Arnold first met when she saw his act in 1983. The two’s relationship was officially cemented in 1990 with their marriage, but divorce followed just four years later. Since then the two have publicly swiped at one another.
Ultimately though, Barr is grateful for the tabloid reuniting her with her daughter. After getting the call from the tabloid at 17 years old, a year before Barr had intended to find her, she flew out out to meet her along with her adoptive mother.
“…we met and it was wonderful,” she explained to Bunnie. “So we’ve been back together since then, and she is now 53. She is awesome. She has a son and a lovely husband, and she’s a wonderful woman.”
Legendary Sitcom Actress, 72, Reveals Alleged Actor Who Tipped off Tabloid About Daughter She Put up for Adoption first appeared on Parade on Jun 23, 2025
This story was originally reported by Parade on Jun 23, 2025, where it first appeared.