Marie Osmond
Olive Marie Osmond is a singer, film screenwriter, actress, doll designer, and a member of the famous Osmond Family. She was born 13 October 1959 in Ogden, Utah, and is the only girl born to the late George Virl Osmond Sr. and Olive May Davis Osmond. Her brothers are Virl, Tom, Alan, Wayne, Merrill, Jay, Donny, and Jimmy. Her two oldest brothers, Virl and Tom were both born deaf. Her brothers Alan, Wayne, Merrill, and Jay comprised the original Osmond Brothers. She and her eight siblings all studied Karate under Chuck Norris.
Per her biography on her official website, "Marie Osmond has spent 5 iconic decades in the entertainment business performing as a successful singer, television performer and talk show host, dancer, actor, author, entrepreneur, philanthropist and public speaker. She has continued to maintain relevance, remaining an instantly recognizable figure across the globe." Her brothers were already famous when she made her national television debut on the Andy Williams Show at the age of 3 in 1963. At the age of 12, she released her debut single, "Paper Roses," a country pop ballad which reached the #1 spot on two Billboard charts, "a feat that not only placed her among an elite class of musical royalty but instantly catapulted her to international superstardom." With the success of "Paper Roses," she became the youngest female artist to have her debut record go to #1 on the charts along with a Grammy nomination.
Since then, she has garnered two Grammy nominations, a CMA Vocal Duo of the Year award, numerous Billboard chart-topping singles and albums, and three New York Times Bestselling books. She has also appeared in television commercials, been on lecture tours, and has a highly successful Marie Osmond Collector Dolls business. The fact that she has now been performing for almost five decades is considered an even rarer feat for a woman in the entertainment business.
When she began performing with The Osmond Brothers, they changed their name to "The Osmonds."In the 1970s and 1980s, she garnered success as a country music artist. She co-hosted The Donny and Marie Show with Donny from 1976 to 1981. She was only 16 at the time the show premiered and Donny was 18. They became the youngest entertainers in TV history to host their own variety show. A year later, The Keane Brothers would break this record. The show was dubbed into 17 languages. Marie then appeared in several TV shows, co-hosted Ripley's Believe It or Not, and performed voice-overs for children's videos. She also recorded many very successful country music albums, and created a show with five of her children called Marie Osmond's Magic of Christmas. The show played at major US venues during the 80s and 90s and was reprised in 2006.
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An Extremely Successful Career
When she began performing with The Osmond Brothers, they changed their name to "The Osmonds."In the 1970s and 1980s, she garnered success as a country music artist. She co-hosted The Donny and Marie Show with Donny from 1976 to 1981. She was only 16 at the time the show premiered and Donny was 18. They became the youngest entertainers in TV history to host their own variety show. A year later, The Keane Brothers would break this record. The show was dubbed into 17 languages. Marie then appeared in several TV shows, co-hosted Ripley's Believe It or Not, and performed voice-overs for children's videos. She also recorded many very successful country music albums, and created a show with five of her children called Marie Osmond's Magic of Christmas. The show played at major US venues during the 80s and 90s and was reprised in 2006.
Marie Osmond played the part of Maria in the national touring company of Rodgers and Hammerstein's The Sound of Music in 1994 and 1995, and again in 1997. In 1997, she starred in The King and I on Broadway, and took the play to Los Angeles and San Francisco in 1998. From 1998 to 2000, she and Donny co-hosted the talk show Donny and Marie. She performed with Donny at the closing ceremonies of the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. In 2003, she and Donny performed in the humorous Pepsi Twist television commercial with Ozzie Osbourne and his family. In August 2003, she received a star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame. Marie is also known for her national radio show Marie and Friends (2012) which was #1 in the markets, and The Talk (2010). On film, she starred in Goin’ Coconuts with Donny (1978), The Gift of Love (1979), Side by Side (1982) – she played the role of her mother, and I Married Wyatt Earp (1983). She turned down the starring role in the movie Grease (1978) on “moral grounds.” She was a judge on the TV talent competition Celebrity Duets, and she came in third on season five of Dancing with the Stars.
Among her 27 albums and numerous gold records, another highlight of her career was winning Country Music Association’s Vocal Duo of the Year award for ""Meet Me in Montana". According to the official Osmond website, whether Marie is "performing live for the 2002 Olympics or being in the number one Super Bowl 2003 commercial, Marie constantly evolves her talents such as starring on Broadway in shows like The Sound of Music and The King and I, which garnered rave reviews." She also appeared in The Muppets’ "She Drives Me Crazy" music video.
Donny and Marie had a long-running show in Las Vegas, which originally was expected to last six weeks. The show was in its eleventh year when Donny and Marie announced on television's "Good Morning, America" in March 2019 that they would conclude their show at the end of the 2019 season. Donny plans to work on other projects, and Marie will stay on the Las Vegas strip with a new show and new partner. Donny and Marie performed together for more than 40 years.
An Accomplished Author, An Entrepreneur, and A Humanitarian
Marie is also an accomplished author. In October 1999, she disclosed her treatment for a severe bout of postpartum depression, following the birth of her 7th child, Matthew, on 6 July 1999. Imdb.com reports, "She became so despondent that she left her husband and kids planning never to return. Osmond said she basically gave the baby, and credit card, to her babysitter, got in her car and drove off believing her kids would be better off without her. She reconsidered later when her husband reached out to her by cell phone." In 2001, she became the first-ever celebrity to write publicly about her experience with Postpartum Depression. Her book, Behind the Smile, became a New York Times bestseller. Her next book, Might as Well Laugh About it Now, published in April 2009, was on the New York Times bestseller list for eight weeks.
She is also a thriving business person and entrepreneur. In 1991, she launched the "Marie Osmond Fine Porcelain Collector Dolls" line on QVC and at Disney theme parks. It has become QVC’s top-selling doll line, has been nominated for Trendsetter of the Year in the collectables industry, and has moved into the retail and direct response markets. In 1993, she began sculpting some her dolls and received three Dolls of Excellence award nominations during the 1997 International Toy Fair. In 1998, she celebrated the sale of her 1,000,000th doll on QVC. She has a new line of products for the home sewing and crafting market, as well. These are spotlighted on QVC Network's Crafting with Marie program.
Marie Osmond is the co-founder/co-host, with John Schneider, of a project of The Osmond Foundation, the Children’s Miracle Network, which has raised more than $1.8 billion since 1983 for medical treatment, research, and assistance, benefiting children’s hospitals throughout the U.S. and Canada. In 1989, she was presented with the Roy Acuff Award in recognition for her work on behalf of children.
Personal Life
Marie Osmond is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She remarried her first husband Steve Craig on 4 May 2011 in the Las Vegas Nevada Temple with close family and friends in attendance. She is the proud mother of eight children, one by Stephen Craig, two by second husband Brian Blosil, and five she adopted while married to Blosil. She is also a spokesperson for the American Heart Association, having lost her grandmother, mother, and father to heart disease. And her latest CD Music is Medicine was released on 15 April 2016. You can learn more about Marie at Latter-day Saint Musicians.com.
