Sharon Osbourne was one of the few celebrities who managed to stay in the spotlight in spite of marrying a rockstar. Her jarring childhood and her scandalous marriage would have been the highlights of her life if she wasn’t a crazy, mega-manager and a TV personality. Here are awesome facts about the hot-tempered Sharon Osbourne and the troubles she got herself into.
1. She Was A Rock’n Roll Baby
In 1952, music promoter Don Arden and his wife Hope Shaw added a daughter—named Sharon Rachel Levy—to their rock’n roller lives. She came to the world on a calm October day, but nothing about her life was calm because she was the baby in a room full of rock stars, producers, and artists.
It sounds exciting. But exciting can be a bad thing.
2. She Witnessed All The Wrong Things Very Early
During her earlier years, Osbourne often found herself in the middle of scandals, fights, and shady business deals. She often stood by her father’s side, spectating. From time to time, her father would be the one doing the threatening or fighting—sometimes even waving loaded weapons in people's faces.
And her dad wasn’t the only bad parent in the house.
3. Her Mother Was Cold
Sharon Osbourne claims her mother was a soulless woman who always wished that Osbourne had been born a boy. Hope Shaw didn’t get along well with her daughter—and the feeling was mutual. As Osbourne put it, "I think there was an underlying love, but there was no friendship, nothing at all, we didn't like each other."
As she got older, things went from bad to worse.
4. She Had An Unplanned Pregnancy
When Osbourne turned 17, her love life took a turn that haunted her and her mother for the rest of their lives. Her first time sleeping with a man resulted in a baby in her belly. As this wasn’t stupefying enough, her mother’s reaction was even more shocking.
5. Her Mother Forced Her To Get Rid Of The Baby
Instead of being a supportive and caring mother, when Osbourne's mother heard the news she responded immediately with a cold demand: “You have to get rid of it.” Osbourne was horror-struck, as her mother continued mumbling. She claimed that she was going to have to get her daughter out of this mess.
So that’s what she set out to do.
6. She Regretted It For The Rest Of Her Life
Despite all the big words and angry promises about getting her out of this mess, Osbourne's mother didn’t even show up on the day of her abortion. She had to go through with it alone and terrified.
Later, Osbourne called it the biggest mistake she had ever made. So without a baby and with lots of mommy issues, she sought shelter in her dad’s arms.
7. Her Father Fired Someone
As soon as she grew old enough to work, Osbourne became a receptionist at her father’s office. There, she met someone who'd change her life forever. At the time, Don Arden was managing Black Sabbath, who were looking to replace their unstable lead singer, Ozzy Osbourne.
But this wasn't exactly the meet cute you're expecting. In fact, Sharon tried to replace Ozzy.
8. She Charmed Someone
When Sharon Osbourne first heard about Black Sabbath, they were searching for a new lead singer, so Sharon suggested Ronnie James Dio. Despite her trying to replace him, Ozzy reported being attracted to Sharon from the start—but, as he put it "she probably thought [he] was a lunatic".
Well, if she did, he sure knew how to win her over.
9. She Was Rebellious
Against her father’s wish, 18-year-old Sharon began dating Ozzy Osbourne. As if this didn’t infuriate her dad enough, she also took over his career, recruited a band for his solo career, and set out to launch his album. It was bad enough that Sharon had another man in the center of her life, but Arden hated Ozzy to boot.
This was going to get far worse before it got better.
10. She Tied The Knot
One family comes as one family goes. Just a few years after they first met, in 1979, Sharon and Ozzy Osbourne tied the not, and Sharon Levy became Sharon Osbourne. Pretty soon, the Osbournes added a third to their number.
11. She Was Pregnant, Again
Maybe Sharon felt deja vu when, a year after her wedding, she learned she was pregnant again. However, this time, no one referred to the baby as a mess. On September 2, 1983, a little girl named Aimee Osbourne joined the rockstar family.
This was a precious moment for Osbourne—but what came next wasn’t.
12. They Had Notorious Fights
Sharon and Ozzy fought constantly. They weren't just in a war of words, either; it often got physical. Sometimes, it was humiliatingly public. Once, Ozzy ran off stage in the middle of a concert to yell at her, then came back to continue with the song. With all that fighting, it's no surprise their marriage started getting worse and worse with each passing day.
13. People Pitied Her
News about the distressed couple piled up—but one unspeakable act took the cake. The media began to describe Osbourne as the “beaten woman” after her husband knocked out her front teeth. However, the media didn't tell the whole story...
14. She Was Not That Innocent
As it turned out, Osbourne wasn't so innocent herself. She often responded to her husband in the form of an eye for an eye. On one occasion, when she got caught in the heat of the moment, she threw a full bottle of scotch at his head. So yes, Ozzy was chaotic and troubled, but Sharon was no slouch either.
But being with him was still better than being with her father—as one chilling incident proved.
15. She Was Not Welcomed
Osbourne was already having trouble with her parents, but this mutual dislike hit a new level when she visited them once in the early 80s—even if it wasn’t technically her parents’ fault. When Sharon entered the house, her parents' dogs savagely attacked her. The Doberman knocked her to the ground, then they swarmed her.
Painfully enough, this wasn’t the end of the nightmare.
16. She Suffered A Second Loss
Osbourne simply said, “It’s the most frightening thing in the world and time goes in slow motion and fear.” But once she got to the hospital, she had to face a heartbreaking reality. As it turned out, she was pregnant, and she lost the baby in the attack.
But right when she was at her lowest, something magical happened.
17. Then Her Babies Came, With Worries
In the years that followed the tragedy, the Osbournes welcomed three babies, with Kelly and Jack coming soon after Aimee. Nevertheless, Osbourne constantly worried about turning into her mother or cursing her babies with her own messed up marriage and lifestyle.
Even though she worried about showing them the right way in life, what came next was a complete disaster.
18. They Went To Russia
In 1989, the Osbournes went to Moscow because Ozzy had a performance scheduled for the Moscow Music Peace Festival—yet there was nothing peaceful about it. This was the moment Ozzy hit rock bottom. He was using substances, drinking excessively, and was severely unstable.
After an incident we'll discuss soon, he decided he needed to change his ways. Incredibly it worked—sort of.
19. She Was The First Lady Of Ozzfest
In the following years, Sharon Osbourne organized what came to be the most successful enterprise of her husband's career: Ozzfest. She was the mastermind who launched the phenomenal festival in spite of people who, by the 90s, thought Ozzy was “uncool".
Considering the ongoing success of Ozzfest, it seemed like she won that battle—but another was just around the corner.
20. Her Phone Rang In The Middle Of The Night
Even though Osbourne didn’t stay in touch with her parents, she still knew what was going on in their lives. As such, she knew that her mother had been in a terrible car accident—yet she recalls only feeling strange and cold after learning of it. After all, the two weren't even speaking by that point.
Then one day in 1999, the phone rang. Her brother was on the line, and he had horrible news.
21. Her Response Was Bitter
Hope Arden, Sharon's mother, was gone. Their relationship had been strained, but still, Osbourne's response to the tragic news was shockingly unfeeling. The only words that came out of her mouth were, "Oh, what a shame".
She then put the phone down and resumed her life—but whether she'd admit it or not, she was not the same person.
22. She Lost Tons Of Weight
The same year, Osbourne underwent lap-band surgery for weight loss. In one year she lost almost 100 pounds, and everything about her looks changed. She used to note that her large figure was “an essential part of her persona” because people took her more seriously.
After the weight loss, she had to compensate for her tiny figure with scandals to make a statement.
.jpg){kind=link}
23. She Told Lies About Her Father
Sharon Osbourne acted offensive and hostile around everyone, so it was no shock that her dad got the worst treatment. In an interview in 2001, when asked about her relationship with Arden, she revealed that her father had never met her children—and never would. On top of that, she said that her children thought their grandfather was not alive.
However, this was about to change.
24. Her Children Was About To Bust Her
Right after she lied about her father, her children encountered a man looking exactly like their grandfather—based on his pictures, of course. They were almost sure this was Arden because Osbourne was shouting at him at that moment. When they confronted their mom, Osbourne told another lie, saying that the man was Tony Curtis.
Meanwhile, it looked like she got away with everything.
25. She Had Her Show
In 2002, a cable network made an offer to Osbourne she couldn’t refuse. The Osbourne family was about to have their own reality show—The Osbournes—which would broadcast all their family drama. The show instantly became a hit—people loved to see how rock stars fight and how rock parents took care of their children.
Yet, something was missing.
26. She Had A Notorious Reunion
It took The Osbournes to heal the Osbournes' broken family. Don Arden appeared on the show, and father and daughter reconciled. He even met his grandchildren Kelly and Jack for the first time on camera. It looked like they were finally all one happy family. That's right when something earth-shattering happened.
27. Her Body Couldn't Take It Anymore
In July 2002, Osbourne discovered that she had cancer. She didn't take it very seriously at first and even insisted the show keep filming—but it turned out to be very serious. Medical professionals advised her to slow down—but Sharon Osbourne wasn’t a rule follower.
28. She Resisted
For the following months, Osbourne juggled chemotherapy and doing the show. With a “show must go on” mentality, she requested the crew to document her illness, so the second season of The Osbournes started off with all eyes on her.
In classic Sharon fashion, she tried everything in her power to look good for the cameras.
29. Cher Inspired Her
On top of all the makeup and medicines, she invested in wigs. Since her hair was falling out due to the chemotherapy, she collaborated with Cher’s wigmaker and purchased custom-made wigs.
Even though wardrobe and makeup made her at least look like everything was normal, there wasn't anyone who could touch up her mental health quite so well.
30. She Adopted Someone, Or Did She?
Around the same time, her daughter Kelly’s friend Robert lost his mother due to cancer—and this incident was very touching for Osbourne. She then publicly announced that she adopted Robert. However, this sparked controversy when Robert went to live with his biological father—following a nervous breakdown—and Osbourne denied adopting him at all.
And while Osbourne was dealing with her fake adopted son, her real son was going through some dark stuff.
31. Her Son Was Practicing Self-Harm
Osbourne’s youngest child Jack followed in his father’s footsteps—all the way to rehab. The 17-year-old then confessed that he attempted to take his own life, as he put it, “I took a whole bunch of pills and drank some absinthe”.
He already suffered from depression, and seeing his mother's condition pushed him over the edge.
32. She Had A New Show Alert
When Osbourne went into remission in 2003, she got herself another side hustle—her own talk show on TV. Based in the UK rather than Los Angeles, The Sharon Osbourne Show would include guests so that Osbourne would have the chance to showcase her HR skills.
Before the show, they tested her skills with an event.
33. The Osbournes Hosted An Event
In January 2003, the American Music Awards announced that the whole Osbourne family would host that year's ceremony. Though some stiff collars raised their noses at the choice, The Osbournes was a hit and the decision made perfect sense. Then the night started...
34. The Night Was A Disaster For Her
The AMAs that year started off with controversy and ended with an outright scandal. Many viewers and audience members couldn't believe the Osbournes' shocking language—let's just say there was a lot of “beeping”. Eventually, it got so bad that presenter Patricia Heaton walked out of the ceremony in disgust.
Osbournes desperately wanted to forget that night, which makes what came next tragically ironic.
35. Her Father Was Forgetting Things
The whole family was already miserable when Sharon got a call from the Los Angeles nursing home caring for her father. Arden had advanced-stage Alzheimer's and pneumonia, and the staff needed to know if they should resuscitate him in the event of cardiac arrest. The end was officially near.
Despite their tumultuous relationship, Osbourne had a soft spot for him by now, so she hoisted a white flag.
36. It Was Time For Her To Step Up
Osbourne put on her big girl shoes and forgave her father before she lost him forever. She ended up paying for his care for the rest of his life. Thus, this bitter sickness marked the end of the feud between these two rock star managers.
But that didn't mean her problems were over.
37. Her Show Wasn’t Going So Well
Osbourne’s new talk show wasn’t doing well with the ratings. How could it? Her body was deteriorating. Between the stress, the remnants of her cancer, and the family troubles, it's a wonder she could stand. The show’s critics noticed, commenting that she could barely do the basics of being a talk show host, like reading from a prompter or interviewing guests.
Even though she struggled to keep her show alive, another ending was nigh.
38. She Was All Plastic
Osbourne has always cared dearly about her clothes, her accessories, and how she looked. She had been very open about her long list of cosmetic surgeries. In 2006, she made an appearance on Dr Phil and admitted that she almost changed everything on her body with surgery.
She knew that a television personality must look like the part, and television loved her ageless looks. At least this enabled her to jump from one show to the other.
39. She Was Everywhere
After the end of her reality show and her talk show, Osbourne became a judge on the UK’s version of The X Factor. Since everyone knew her personality on and off camera, she didn’t shock anyone with her outbursts—although she received tons of criticism because of what she said about another TV personality.
40. She Made Inappropriate Comments
Before a live show in season three, Osbourne sparked another controversy when she spoke out against Chris Tarrant, the host of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire. This came after Tarrant made some comments about her husband. She openly discussed Tarrant’s infidelity and divorce, infuriating most of the producers of the show.
However, despite all her outbursts, she had a long run with The X Factor team until 2010, when she began hosting another talk show of her own: The Talk.
41. She Published Multiple Biographies
As you all know by now, Osbourne’s had more ups and downs than a roller coaster, so shouldn't be surprising that she published not one, not two, but three biographies to tell her stories. Her first one, Extreme, covered her childhood, the second one, Survivor, covered her cancer battle, and the third, Unbreakable, was about the chain of events that happened after cancer.
42. People Canceled Her
After a very unsuccessful season, the producers decided to pull the plug on The Sharon Osbourne Show. Of course Osbourne was not happy with the decision, but she already had enough on her plate—Ozzfest 2004 was fast approaching. Although she was busy organizing the festival, she was upset and ready to make a scene about the cancellation.
So, of course: That's exactly what she did.
43. She Orchestrated A Scandal
Once Ozzfest began, Osbourne caused a stir and signed her name under one of the biggest festival controversies of all time. While Iron Maiden was on stage, Osbourne and her entourage allegedly bombarded the band with eggs and other things.
Even Sharon's daughter Kelly was involved in this incident. What came next was even juicier.
44. Her Plan Wasn’t Over
After Iron Maiden’s first three songs—by which point eggs already covered the stage—Osbourne engineered a power outage. Then, she played a recording of people playing "Ozzy, Ozzy, Ozzy". But she wasn't finished yet. On top of such humiliation, she found a microphone and announced that Iron Maiden frontman Bruce Dickinson was a “p-r-i-c-k” to 40,000 people.
But when she returned home from this craze, karma was waiting for her.
45. Someone Got Her Jewels
Back from the festival, Mr and Mrs Osbourne ticked another box in their list of dramatic events. Someone broke into their home in Jordans, Buckinghamshire, and made off with gems worth £2 million. Even worse, the couple was home at the time—Ozzy even tried to stop him!
Alas, the man got away, along with treasured items like wedding and engagement rings. The invasion had Sharon Osbourne breathing fire, so she got in front of a camera to spit the fire.
46. She Offered A Deal To The Public
Right after she realized the officials couldn’t find the guilty party, she asked for help from her fellow citizens. She appeared on a television program about unsolved crimes named Crimewatch and she offered £100,000 to whoever found her jewelry. She didn’t even want to find the thief, just the accessories.
48. She Lost It
The first scandal occurred in 2000, when Osbourne resigned from managing The Smashing Pumpkins out of nowhere. She sent out a quirky memo, saying that “unfortunately I must resign today due to medical reasons ... [The Smashing Pumpkins frontman] Billy Corgan was making me sick”.
Her hostile jokes accompanied outright lies.
47. Her Husband Lost It
At the beginning of their relationship, Ozzy was always tipsy and absent. Soon, Sharon's other fears came disturbingly true. She caught him with another girl when she flew all the way to Tokyo to surprise him. His list of misdeeds was getting longer, and his temper was getting hotter
49. She Was Almost Out Of Breath
Things went very wrong at the Moscow Peace Festival, a show Ozzy was playing. According to Sharon's accounts, her husband, after finishing four bottles, made a notorious decision. He said, "I've decided you have to go," put his hands around her neck, and started to squeeze.
Sharon fought for her dear life in the following minutes. Thankfully, she won that fight—and immediately took action.
50. Her Husband Went To Rehab
Osbourne immediately called the authorities and they took Ozzy down to the station. For all the shock of her husband trying to take her life, she reacted in a very bizarre way. She made sure that nobody put her husband behind bars.
Instead, they sent Ozzy to rehab for three months…but his journey would take longer than that.
51. She Didn’t Press Charges
Instead of seeking justice, Osbourne sought a healthy relationship—which meant her husband recovering. So she didn’t press any charges. Moreover, she reminisced about the incident with a hauntingly optimistic comment, saying, “He was totally insane from all the drink and drugs he was doing, and well, these things happen".
