Veronica "Ronnie" is Roseanne and Jackie's cousin who appeared in an episode of Season 5 . She is portrayed by legendary actress, Joan Collins.
Background[]
Ronnie is the wealthy, somewhat snobbish cousin of Roseanne who she seems to hate. Jackie tells her that their mother called ahead to inform them that Ronnie was coming to visit from New York, despite them all not seeing one another for many years. Ronnie arrives and announces she has come to pay her respects for the loss of Roseanne and Jackie's father, Al Harris.
It is revealed that some 20 years prior to the series, the two had an argument (or misunderstanding as Jackie puts it) related to Ronnie's wedding. Roseanne thought she was supposed to be a bridesmaid, but (according to her) Ronnie thought that Roseanne wasn't "good enough" to be in her wedding. Roseanne also reveals she felt resentment towards Ronnie because they had made plans as teenagers to move to New York together that Ronnie never followed through on.
The two bond over old memories at Roseanne's house and she mentions how much she admired her cousin for making it as a writer in New York and having a successful career. Ronnie and Darlene begin to bond over their shared interests and desire to leave Lanford behind. She encourage Darlene to drop out of high school and chase her dream of attending an art school she wants to apply for in New York and even offers to give her a loan and place to stay. Thinking Ronnie is getting Darlene's hopes up for something she won't do, just as she did to her years ago, Roseanne confronts Ronnie.
Roseanne and Ronnie make up again before she leaves and realize how much they love to mock one another.
Trivia[]
She mentions that she didn't even stay with the man she married for a year.
She revealed to Dan that she once lost over $2,000 on one hand of cards in Las Vegas.
Behind the Scenes[]
It was revealed by former Roseanne writers Eileen Heisler and DeAnn Heline, that Roseanne Barr had met Joan Collins at a party and ordered the writing team to include her in an upcoming episode as her character's cousin with very short notice.