Tragic Details About The Cast Of Roseanne

"Roseanne" premiered in 1988 and became an instant fan favorite as well as a success with critics, eventually earning 23 Primetime Emmy nominations and garnering four wins. The sitcom, which the often problematic Roseanne Barr created, appealed to a wide audience with its honest portrayal of a working-class family that was relatable and lovable with plenty of flaws. It was also a groundbreaking series in that it featured openly gay and bisexual characters at a time when such a thing was still considered taboo by many.

In 2018, the series returned to the small screen and was revived as "The Conners" after its star Roseanne Barr was killed off the show as a result of her controversial off-screen behavior. In 2025, the show aired its final season with many of the core cast still a big part of the show, proving that the Conner family will always endure, no matter what they've had to face.

Over the course of the show, the Conner family dealt with many ups and downs, tackling subjects such as racism, domestic violence, abortion, and addiction. They also managed to do this in a way that was both moving and funny. In real life, the cast of "Roseanne" dealt with various obstacles of their own, including mental illness, alcoholism, serious illness, and substance-related deaths. Without a laugh track to accompany their real-life tragedies, the cast of "Roseanne" has been through a lot, and some sadly did not survive their struggles. Read on to learn more about the tragic details of the cast of "Roseanne."

Roseanne Barr has become a controversial figure in the entertainment industry, even getting fired from her own show in 2018 because of a racist tweet. But Barr began her career as a groundbreaking comedian who created the eponymous sitcom "Roseanne" based on her own life as a working-class mother of three. While Barr enjoyed many years of success, she was haunted by a traumatic past and constantly dealt with many mental health issues.

In 1991, after "Roseanne" had made Barr a household name, the actor came out publicly as having been a victim of incest and abuse as a child. She alleged that both her mother and her father had participated in extremely disturbing instances of abuse, which she claimed to have repressed for most of her life. "Keeping the secret of incest has taken all my energy and courage for 38 years," Barr revealed to People. She added that it was her husband at the time, Tom Arnold, who helped her come to terms with her past and seek therapy.

Barr also has a long history of dealing with mental health issues. It's something she's been open about over the years, something that has caused a lot of strife in her personal life and career. "I'm bipolar, amongst a million other f***ing things," Barr shared on "The Joe Rogan Experience" in 2019. "I've got more mental illness than you can shake a stick at. It's hard to live with it," she added.

If you or someone you know may be the victim of child abuse, please contact the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child (1-800-422-4453) or contact their live chat services.

If you or someone you know needs help with mental health, please contact the Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741741, call the National Alliance on Mental Illness helpline at 1-800-950-NAMI (6264), or visit the National Institute of Mental Health website.

John Goodman will likely go down in history as one of the most beloved sitcom dads ever. As Dan Conner, Roseanne Conner's husband and father of Becky, Darlene, and D.J., Goodman was funny, down-to-earth, and an all-around good guy. While the Conners weathered many storms over the course of the show's run, Goodman was dealing with a personal struggle, something that couldn't be wrapped up in a half-hour sitcom block.

The truth was that Goodman had dealt with alcohol misuse since he was in his 20s, and this often interfered with his ability to work. Goodman, who has performed in theater as well as TV and film, told Vulture that doing plays presented a particular challenge. "I'd have the shakes so bad I'd have to have a drink to get through the show. I'm lucky I never got fired," he said. Goodman found that his alcohol use affected him in other ways that made doing his job difficult. "Temperament. Memory. Depression," he shared with The Guardian.

In 2007, Goodman finally got sober with the help of Alcoholics Anonymous, but it had been a long and troubled road to recovery. "It was 30 years of a disease that was taking its toll on everyone around me ... it was becoming more and more debilitating," the actor revealed to The Guardian. "It was life or death."

If you or anyone you know needs help with addiction issues, help is available. Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).

Glenn Quinn played Mark Healy on "Roseanne," Becky's rough-around-the-edges boyfriend and eventually her husband after the characters eloped. Quinn appeared on the show from 1990 until 1997 and went on to star in the "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" spinoff "Angel" in 1999. Quinn, who was a native of Dublin, Ireland, seemed to have found his footing in his post-"Roseanne" career, but then tragedy struck in 2002 when the actor was found dead at a friend's North Hollywood home. Autopsy reports concluded that the cause of death was an accidental heroin overdose. Quinn was just 32 years old at the time of his passing.

Quinn's "Roseanne" co-stars took his death hard, given it was sudden and unexpected. As Michael Fishman (who played D.J. on the show) told The Irish Independent, "I was shocked and devastated when Glenn passed away. ... Glenn was like a spotlight of a man, he could cut through the darkest moment and light things up." Lecy Goranson, who played Quinn's wife Becky on the show told Access Hollywood that the "Roseanne" reboot was dedicated to the actor's life and memory. "[W]hile we were shooting the show, there were many times where we felt his presence with us very, very strongly," she revealed.

If you or anyone you know needs help with addiction issues, help is available. Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).

Lecy Goranson played Becky Conner on "Roseanne" for five seasons until she left to attend Vassar College and was replaced by Sarah Chalke. Goranson returned to the show several times and came back for good for the show's revival in 2018. Goranson's character mourned the death of her husband, Mark, played by Glenn Quinn, and Goranson grieved the loss of Quinn in real life. But that was not the only loss Goranson experienced. Her mother sadly passed away in 2020.

Goranson's mother, Linda, was a highly educated teacher and psychologist who always supported her daughter in her career. She passed away in Goranson's hometown of Evanston, Illinois, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in January 2020. According to Goranson, the pandemic made dealing with the loss even more painful because planning a proper gathering at the time was difficult. "One thing my mom told me before she died was 'So little matters other than people,'" the actor shared with The New York Times. "And that seems like cruel irony right now because I haven't been around anyone I love since she said that."

Sara Gilbert played Darlene Conner, the tomboy middle child on "Roseanne" for the entirety of the show's run. While Darlene had a boyfriend on the show, David Healy, played by Johnny Galecki, in real life, Gilbert found herself questioning her sexuality. In fact, she and Galecki sort of dated for a bit off-screen as well, and it was during their brief courtship that Gilbert realized she was a lesbian. "[He] would come over and we would make out and then I would start to get depressed," the actor divulged on an episode of "The Talk" (via the Los Angeles Times).

Gilbert shared her feelings with Galecki, who was extremely supportive, especially because Gilbert felt as though she had to keep the truth of her sexuality a secret lest it interfere with her professional life. For years, Galecki was the only person on the show who knew, and Gilbert feared what would happen if her true self was revealed. "I just felt so scared if it came out, what could happen. Could I lose my career? Would I ever be able to play a straight role again?" Gilbert said.

In 2014, Gilbert married musician and songwriter Linda Perry. Although the pair divorced in 2021, they continue to co-parent their son, Rhodes.

Michael Fishman, who played D.J. Conner on "Roseanne," was just 6 years old when the show premiered in 1988. Over the course of the series' many seasons, fans watched D.J. grow up before their eyes, and now Fishman has children of his own. Fishman married Jennifer Briner was he was 18, and the pair welcomed two children, Aaron and Isabelle, shortly afterward. The couple split in 2018, and it was then that Fishman adopted two older children, Camille and Larry. In 2020, Larry tragically passed away from a drug overdose.

According to Fishman, Larry did not have substance issues but had been experimenting. "[H]e tried drugs that turned out to be bad drugs that multiple people had a very serious reaction [to]," the actor explained on an episode of "Tamron Hall Show." Fishman was emotional as he reflected on his relationship with his son, saying, "I feel like I came to Larry maybe later than I wish I could ... you wish you had more time and you don't always get the time that you want." Fishman expressed that he was candid about Larry's story because he hoped to help anyone else in a similar situation.

Fishman has taken to social media over the years to share his pride in his children, and in September 2020, he posted an Instagram pic of Larry on National Sons Day with the caption "Always in my heart."

If you or anyone you know needs help with addiction issues, help is available. Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).

Johnny Galecki played David Healy on "Roseanne," the brother of Mark and the boyfriend of Darlene. Galecki had quite the transformation from child actor to starring in "The Big Bang Theory," but while his career was thriving, the actor suffered a devastating loss. In 2017, Galecki's Santa Margarita, California, home was destroyed by wildfires.

Luckily, Galecki was not harmed in the blaze, but his property was severely damaged. The actor took to Instagram in the wake of the loss to express his gratitude to the firefighters who worked hard to get the fires under control. The photo is of Galecki hugging a member of the fire department amid the rubble, and the caption read in part, "Thank you to the brothers and sisters of @calfire It is the profound risks that you accept and the sacrifices you and your families make that keep us safe."

Galecki also issued a statement to CNN which included a message of hope for his community. "[I]f the people of Santa Margarita have taught me anything it's that, once the smoke has cleared, literally and figuratively, it's a time to reach out and rebuild," the actor said.

Beginning in 1993, Sarah Chalke starred as Becky on "Roseanne" after the character's original actor, Lecy Goranson, left the show to attend college. Chalke also appeared in the retooled version of the show, "The Conners," as Andrea, a wealthy woman for whom Goranson's Becky would be a surrogate, and fans may also recognize Chalke from her long stint as Dr. Elliot Reid on "Scrubs." In 2011, Chalke faced a frightening medical issue in her own life when her son, Charlie, was diagnosed with Kawasaki disease.

One of the most difficult aspects of Charlie's illness was getting a clear diagnosis. "You present with all these symptoms, you get a lot of repeated misdiagnoses, you keep getting sent home [by doctors]," Chalke shared with TVLine. A major issue with Kawasaki disease, which causes inflamed blood vessels, is that time is of the essence. There is only about a 10-day time frame wherein treatment will be successful, otherwise there is a serious chance that the patient will develop coronary artery disease.

Thankfully, Chalke was able to get Charlie treated within that short window, but just barely. "We fought really hard to see a specialist but got the treatment on Day 10½," Chalke revealed, adding, "[T]hank God Charlie is OK."

Actor and comic Sandra Bernhard was a recurring character on "Roseanne" playing Nancy Bartlett, a friend of Roseanne's who married Tom Arnold's character, Arnie Thomas. Nancy was also vocal about her attraction to women, proving that "Roseanne" was very progressive for its time.

In real life, Bernhard has been with her partner, Sara Switzer, for over two decades, but there was another woman in her life who essentially broke her heart. Bernhard and pop icon Madonna became friends in the '80s and stayed close for many years until the pair had a falling out in 1992. While Bernhard hasn't gone into detail about what caused the friendship breakup, she has alluded to Madonna being the one to pull away. "She doesn't really want somebody around who reflects too much of who she is," she explained on the "Hot Takes and Deep Dives" podcast. "Therefore, her relationships just don't last," she said (via W).

In 2024, Bernhard admitted that the end of her friendship with Madonna still stung. "[T]here are times when I'm like, that really makes me sad, you know, that we couldn't maintain our friendship," the actor said on Jesse Tyler Ferguson's podcast, "Dinner's on Me." She added, "I mean, I could have."

Tom Arnold, who was married to Roseanne Barr from 1990 until 1994, was a series regular on his wife's show, playing Arnie Thomas, a friend of Dan Conner. Arnold has been open over the years about his substance misuse and his mental health struggles, telling Sarasota Magazine, "Growing up in the '80s, people didn't talk about it. It was considered a weakness." While the actor eventually got his issues under control, he suffered a major health scare in 2020.

In 2022, he shared with People, "[T]wo years ago I had massive organ failure. My doctor changed my medication, but I knew I needed to make bigger changes because I really dropped the ball on self-care these last few years." Arnold credited his children with motivating him to prioritize his health, and in 2025, it seemed he had achieved his goal of healthier living. The actor posted a sweet Instagram pic of himself and his daughter on their way to a dance with the caption, "Last night was the Dad/Daughter Dance and the 5th anniversary of my organ failure. It's great to be alive."

Veteran actor Martin Mull played Roseanne's boss Leon Carp on the series, and the two characters' disdain for each other was a source of many comedic scenarios. Leon was an openly gay character who eventually married his partner, Scott, played by the late great Fred Willard, and the union was yet another example of the show's groundbreaking quality.

In 2024, Mull passed away at the age of 80 after a long and impressive career. Mull had appeared in films such as "Clue," and "Jingle All the Way" as well as TV series dating back to the '70s, such as "Fernwood Tonight" and "Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman." The actor stayed working throughout the 2000s as well and appeared in hit series "Veep," "The Ranch," and "Arrested Development." Although the cause of Mull's death has not been revealed as of 2025, his daughter, Maggie Mull said on Instagram that her father's passing came "after a valiant fight against a long illness" (via MSN).