Rosie O'Donnell opens up about how GLP-1 weight loss drug changed her life

Rosie O'Donnell has revealed how a GLP-1 medication transformed both her health and her outlook after a lifetime of struggling with her weight.

The 64-year-old actress and comedian told PEOPLE she started taking Mounjaro three years ago after being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, and has since lost nearly 60 pounds.

"Mounjaro changed my life," O'Donnell said. "I couldn't even pronounce it at first. I was stunned at how it quieted the food noise."

O'Donnell said she has dealt with her weight 'my whole life', and spoke candidly about the toll that took on her both publicly and privately.

Rosie O'Donnell has been open about her Mounjaro use (Photo by Dia Dipasupil/WireImage)

"I know the shame and humiliation dealt to people who are overweight," she said. "My kids would come home from trick-or-treating with pillowcases full of candy and hide it. Smart children. I'd wake up at 3 in the morning and go, 'There's a Nestlé's Crunch bar somewhere.' I couldn't help myself."

She recalled being told by A League of Their Own director Penny Marshall to lose 20 pounds during filming, saying at the time she felt she had no control over her size.

"I'm like, 'You think I carry it around for fun, Penny?'" she said.

Looking back, O'Donnell said she now wishes she'd been kinder to herself at the weight she was then, especially considering where she's ended up.

"I'm now at that same weight," she said. "But I feel much healthier, more powerful in my own physicality."

The 64-year-old actress and comedian said she started taking Mounjaro three years ago after being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, and has since lost nearly 60 pounds. (Photo by MICHAEL TRAN/AFP via Getty Images)

What has changed for Rosie O'Donnell since losing weight?

O'Donnell said the physical shift has affected even the smallest parts of daily life, describing the simple act of buying clothes that fit as feeling unfamiliar.

"It's very strange to just buy a pair of jeans that fit," she said. "When I would do late-night, my biggest concern wasn't my set, it was, did I look fat?"

The weight loss also led her to get a deep plane facelift, after she was left with excess skin she said made her look 'sad.' O'Donnell said she wrestled with the decision for six months, partly due to concerns it clashed with her feminist values, before deciding "the real power of feminism [is] to decide what we want to do with our bodies and when."

She said she eventually spoke publicly about both the medication and the procedure after people started asking what she'd changed.

"I didn't want to be one of those people who says, 'Oh, nothing,'" she said.

Reflecting on her journey, O'Donnell said she feels more comfortable in herself at 64 than she has in years past, adding that she's simply grateful for the shift in perspective the experience has given her.