roseanne cherrie barr (born november 3, 1952) is an emmy award-winning american actress, writer, and comedian. she has also been known as roseanne arnold and roseanne thomas. for several years in the late 1990s and early 2000s, she was known simply as roseanne. by 2005, she had resumed referring to herself by her maiden name. she is best known for playing roseanne conner on the television series "roseanne".