Ozzy Osbourne

==Personal life==
In 1971, Osbourne met his first wife Thelma Riley at the [[Rum Runner (nightclub)|Rum Runner]], the [[Birmingham]] nightclub where she worked.<ref name="I Am Ozzy" /> They were married later that year and children Jessica and Louis were soon born. Osbourne later referred to his first marriage as "a terrible mistake".<ref name="I Am Ozzy" /> His drug and alcohol use, coupled with his frequent absences while touring with Black Sabbath, took their toll on his family life; his children later complained that he was not a good father. In the 2011 documentary film ''God Bless Ozzy Osbourne'', produced by his son Jack, Osbourne admitted that he could not even remember when Louis and Jessica were born.<ref>''God Bless Ozzy Osbourne'' documentary film, produced in 2011. Next Entertainment.</ref>
[[File:Ozzy Osbourne 2.jpg|thumb|Ozzy and [[Sharon Osbourne]] in [[Hawaii]] in 2004]]

Osbourne married his manager [[Sharon Osbourne|Sharon Arden]] on 4 July 1982 and the couple had three children together: [[Aimee Osbourne|Aimee]] (born 2 September 1983), [[Kelly Osbourne|Kelly]] (born 27 October 1984), and [[Jack Osbourne|Jack]] (born 8 November 1985). He later confessed that the well-known "Fourth of July" [[Independence Day (United States)|Independence Day]] date was chosen so that he would never forget his anniversary. Guitarist Randy Rhoads predicted in 1981 that the couple would "probably get married someday" despite their constant bickering and the fact that Osbourne was still married to Thelma at the time.<ref name="SarzoMemoir" /> Osbourne has multiple grandchildren.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://celebritybabies.people.com/2012/04/24/jack-osbourne-lisa-stelly-welcome-daughter-pearl/ |title=Fifth grandchild for Ozzy Osbourne |work=[[People (magazine)|People]] |date=23 January 2012 |access-date=30 June 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120504020027/http://celebritybabies.people.com/2012/04/24/jack-osbourne-lisa-stelly-welcome-daughter-pearl/ |archive-date=4 May 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Osbourne wrote a song for his daughter Aimee, which appeared as a B-side on the album ''[[Ozzmosis]]''. At the end of the song, said daughter can be heard saying "I'll always be your angel", referring to the song's chorus lyrics. The song "My Little Man", which appears on ''Ozzmosis'', was written about his son Jack. The Osbourne family divide their time between homes in [[Buckinghamshire]]<ref>[https://www.nme.com/blogs/nme-blogs/ozzy-osbourne-at-home-getting-personal-with-the-prince-of-darkness "Ozzy Osbourne At Home: Getting Personal With The Prince Of Darkness"]. NME. Retrieved 7 February 2014</ref> and [[Los Angeles]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/ozzy-sharon-osbourne-home-article|title=Sharon and Ozzy Osbourne's House in Los Angeles - Architectural Digest|date=31 May 2011|access-date=7 September 2018}}</ref>

Though Osbourne has long been accused of being a Satanist, ''[[The New York Times]]'' reported in 1992 that he was a practicing member of the [[Church of England]] and prayed before each show.<ref name="Ravo">{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/09/23/garden/at-tea-with-ozzy-osbourne-family-man-fights-fat-is-good-with-kids.html |title=At Tea With – Ozzy Osbourne – Family Man. Fights Fat, Is Good With Kids |work=The New York Times |access-date=15 February 2010 | first=Nick | last=Ravo | date=23 September 1992}}</ref> In 2002, Osbourne and wife Sharon were invited to the [[White House Correspondents' Association]] dinner by [[Fox News Channel]] correspondent [[Greta Van Susteren]] for that year's event. Then-President [[George W. Bush]] noted Osbourne's presence by joking, "The thing about Ozzy is, he's made a lot of big hit recordings – 'Party with the Animals', '[[Sabbath Bloody Sabbath (song)|Sabbath Bloody Sabbath]]', 'Facing Hell', 'Black Skies' and 'Bloodbath in Paradise'. Ozzy, [[Barbara Bush|Mom]] loves your stuff."<ref>{{cite news | first1=Helen | last1=Kennedy | first2=Timothy J. | last2=Burger | title=W rocked by Ozzy at dinner | date=5 May 2002 | url=http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/news/2002/05/05/2002-05-05_w_rocked_by_ozzy_at_dinner.html | work=[[New York Daily News]] | access-date=7 December 2008 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091003141331/http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/news/2002/05/05/2002-05-05_w_rocked_by_ozzy_at_dinner.html | archive-date=3 October 2009 | df=dmy-all }}</ref>

Ozzy and his wife are one of the UK's richest couples, according to the [[Sunday Times Rich List|''Sunday Times'' Rich List]]. They ranked at number 458 in 2005, with an estimated £100&nbsp;million earned from recording, touring, and TV&nbsp;shows. Osbourne has over 15&nbsp;tattoos, the most famous of which are the letters O-Z-Z-Y across the knuckles of his left hand. This was his first tattoo, created by himself as a teenager with a [[sewing needle]] and [[pencil lead]].<ref name="Ozzy"/> A longtime fan of the comedy troupe [[Monty Python]], in a 2010 interview with ''[[Us Weekly]]'' Osbourne stated, "My favourite movie is ''[[Monty Python's Life of Brian]]''".<ref>{{cite news |title=25 Things You Don't Know About Me: Ozzy Osbourne |url=https://www.usmagazine.com/entertainment/news/25-things-you-dont-know-about-me-ozzy-osbourne-2010236/|access-date=10 October 2019 |work=Us Weekly}}</ref> Osbourne suffered minor burns after a small house fire in January 2013.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://loudwire.com/ozzy-osbourne-suffers-injuries-house-fire/ |title=Ozzy Osbourne Suffers Injuries in House Fire |publisher=Loudwire.com |date=17 January 2013 |access-date=30 June 2013}}</ref> On his 65th birthday on 3 December 2013, he asked fans to celebrate his birthday by donating to the [[The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust|Royal Marsden cancer charity]] in London.<ref name="Express">[http://www.express.co.uk/news/showbiz/446762/The-Prince-of-Darkness-is-a-pensioner-Ozzy-Osbourne-turns-65-years-old "The Prince of Darkness is a pensioner! Ozzy Osbourne turns 65-years-old"]. Daily Express. Retrieved 7 February 2014</ref>

On 6 February 2019, Osbourne was hospitalised in an undisclosed location on his doctor's advice due to flu complications, postponing the European leg of his "[[No More Tours II]]" tour. The issue was described as a "severe upper-respiratory infection" following a bout with the flu which his doctor feared could develop into [[pneumonia]], given the physicality of the live performances and an extensive travel schedule throughout Europe in harsh winter conditions.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ozzy-osbourne-hospitalized-wife-sharon-osbourne-confirms-due-to-flu-complications/ |title=Ozzy Osbourne hospitalized after flu complications |publisher=CBS News |date=6 February 2019|access-date=9 February 2019}}</ref> Pneumonia targets the airway and breathing and is frequently fatal in elderly patients, necessitating the preventive measures.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://healthcare.utah.edu/the-scope/shows.php?shows=0_riw4wti7 |title=Pneumonia Makes List for Top 10 Causes of Death |publisher=[[University of Utah]] |date=4 November 2016|access-date=12 February 2019}}</ref>

By 12 February 2019, Osbourne had been moved to intensive care. Tour promoters [[Live Nation]] said in a statement that they were hopeful that Osbourne would be "fit and healthy" and able to honour tour dates in Australia and New Zealand in March.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/music/110528098/grave-concern-for-ozzy-osbourne-now-in-intensive-care |title='Concern' for Ozzy Osbourne, now in intensive care |publisher=stuff.co.nz |date=12 February 2019|access-date=12 February 2019}}</ref> Osbourne later cancelled the tour entirely, and ultimately all shows scheduled for 2019, after sustaining serious injuries from a fall in his Los Angeles home while still recovering from pneumonia.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://globalnews.ca/news/5131021/ozzy-osbourne-postpones-tour/ |title=Ozzy Osbourne postpones all 2019 gigs after falling at home |publisher=Global News |date=8 April 2019|access-date=12 February 2019}}</ref> He was diagnosed with [[Parkinson's disease]] in February 2019, which he publicly revealed in January 2020.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-51191615|title=Ozzy Osbourne reveals Parkinson's diagnosis|date=21 January 2020|work=BBC News|access-date=21 January 2020|language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/music/story/2020-02-12/ozzy-osbourne-parkinsons-disease-post-malone|author=Appleford, Steve|title=Ozzy Osbourne surges back amid battle with Parkinson's|website=[[Los Angeles Times]]|date=12 February 2020|access-date=12 February 2020}}</ref>

In February 2020, Osbourne cancelled the 2020 North American tour, seeking treatment in Switzerland until April.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://pitchfork.com/news/ozzy-osbourne-cancels-2020-tour-citing-health-concerns/|title=Ozzy Osbourne Cancels 2020 Tour, Citing Health Concerns|first=Evan|last=Minsker|date=18 February 2020|access-date=18 February 2020|publisher=[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]]}}</ref>

===Drug and alcohol use===
Osbourne has misused alcohol and other drugs for most of his adult life. He admitted to ''[[Sounds (magazine)|Sounds]]'' in 1978, "I get high, I get fucked up ... what the hell's wrong with getting fucked up? There must be something wrong with the system if so many people have to get fucked up ... I never take dope or anything before I go on stage. I'll smoke a [[Joint (cannabis)|joint]] or whatever afterwards."<ref>''[[Sounds (magazine)|Sounds]]'', 21 October 1978</ref> Black Sabbath bandmate Tony Iommi said that while all the band were involved with alcohol and other drugs to various degrees in the 1970s, Osbourne had the unhealthiest lifestyle of them all. Despite this, said Iommi, he was typically the only one left standing when the others were "out for the count".<ref name="iommibook" /> Longtime guitarist Zakk Wylde has attributed Osbourne's longevity in spite of decades of substance misuse to "a very special kind of fortitude that's bigger than King Kong and Godzilla combined... seriously, he's hard as nails, man!"<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.kerrang.com/the-news/ozzy-osbourne-is-doing-really-well-according-to-son-jack/|title=Ozzy Osbourne Is Doing "Really Well" According To Son Jack|first=David Von|last=Bader|date=24 April 2019|access-date=27 April 2019}}</ref>

Osbourne's first experience with [[cocaine]] was in early 1971 at a hotel in [[Denver, Colorado]], after a show Black Sabbath had done with [[Mountain (band)|Mountain]].<ref name="I Am Ozzy" /> He states that Mountain's guitarist, [[Leslie West]], introduced him to the drug.<ref name="I Am Ozzy" /> Though West was reluctant to take credit for introducing Osbourne to cocaine, Osbourne remembers the experience quite clearly: "When you come from Aston and you fall in love with cocaine, you {{em|remember}} when you started. It's like having your first fuck!"<ref name="I Am Ozzy" /> Osbourne says that upon first trying the drug, "The world went a bit fuzzy after that."<ref name="I Am Ozzy" />

Osbourne claimed to have taken [[LSD]] every day for two years while in Black Sabbath. During the end of his time with the band, he said he "got very drunk and very stoned every single day."<ref name="RS Encyclopedia" /><ref name="superstar">{{cite news |title=Ozzy Osbourne, superstar -- again |url=https://www.cnn.com/2002/SHOWBIZ/TV/04/12/ozzy.star/index.html |access-date=19 April 2022 |work=[[CNN.com]] |publisher=[[CNN]] |date=April 12, 2002}}</ref>

Osbourne's drug and alcohol misuse have, at times, caused friction within his band. [[Don Airey]], keyboardist for Osbourne during his early solo career, has said that the vocalist's substance-misuse issues were what ultimately caused him to leave the band.<ref name="airey">{{cite web |last=Wells |first=Troy |title=Don Airey The Ballbuster Interview |url=http://www.ballbustermusic.com/hard_talk/03-2004/don_airey.html |publisher=ballbustermusic.com |url-status=dead |access-date=1 June 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140221233550/http://www.ballbustermusic.com/hard_talk/03-2004/don_airey.html |archive-date=21 February 2014  }}</ref> In his memoir ''Off the Rails'', former bassist [[Rudy Sarzo]] detailed the frustrations felt by him and his bandmates as they coped with life on the road with the vocalist, who was in a state of near-constant inebriation and was often so hungover that he would refuse to perform. When he was able to perform, his voice was often so damaged from cigarettes, alcohol, and drugs that the performance suffered. Many shows on the American leg of the 1981-82 ''Diary of a Madman'' tour were simply cancelled, and the members of his band quickly began to tire of the unpredictability, coupled with the often violent mood swings he was prone to when either drunk or high.<ref name="SarzoMemoir" />

Osbourne claims in his autobiography that he was invited in 1981 to a meeting with the head of CBS Europe in Germany. Intoxicated, he decided to lighten the mood by performing a [[striptease]] on the table and then kissing the record executive on the lips. According to his wife Sharon, he had actually performed a [[Goose step|goose-step]] up and down the table and urinated in the executive's wine, but was too drunk to remember.<ref name="IAmOzzy">{{cite book |last=Osbourne |first=Ozzy |author-link=Ozzy Osbourne |year=2011 |title=I Am Ozzy |publisher=I Am Ozzy |isbn=9780446573139 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yNzCgAEkW8cC&q=randy |access-date=24 May 2013 }}</ref>

On 18 February 1982, while wearing his future wife Sharon's dress for a photoshoot near the [[Battle of the Alamo#Legacy|Alamo]], Osbourne drunkenly urinated on a [[cenotaph]] erected in honour of those who died at the [[Battle of the Alamo]] in Texas, across the street from the [[Alamo Mission in San Antonio|actual building]].<ref>{{cite news | title=Notorious story of Ozzy at The Alamo is mostly all wet | url=http://www.chrisrodell.com/NewFiles/ozzythealamo.html | first=Chris | last=Rodell | newspaper=[[Boston Herald]] | date=May 2005 | access-date=28 March 2009 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150627174934/http://www.chrisrodell.com/NewFiles/ozzythealamo.html | archive-date=27 June 2015 | df=dmy-all }}</ref> A police officer arrested Osbourne,<ref name="BBC"/> and he was subsequently banned from the city of [[San Antonio]] for a decade.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Watch Ozzy Osbourne Tour The Alamo 33 Years After Urination Incident |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/watch-ozzy-osbourne-tour-the-alamo-33-years-after-urination-arrest-32373/ |magazine=Rolling Stone |date=6 November 2015 |access-date=13 October 2019}}</ref> Osbourne had been on a long drinking binge and earlier that same day had drunkenly fired his entire band, including Randy Rhoads, after they had informed him that they would not participate in a planned live album of Black Sabbath songs. He also physically attacked Rhoads and Rudy Sarzo in a hotel bar that morning, and Sharon informed the band that she feared he had "finally snapped". Osbourne later had no memory of firing his band and the tour continued, though his relationship with Rhoads never fully recovered.<ref name="SarzoMemoir" /> In May 1984, Osbourne was arrested in [[Memphis, Tennessee]], again for public intoxication.<ref>{{cite news| title=Ozzy Osbourne |work=[[Kentucky New Era]] ([[Associated Press]]) | date=16 May 1984 | url = https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=E_wrAAAAIBAJ&pg=6525,1952608|access-date=18 June 2010 }}</ref> The most notorious incident came in August 1989, when Sharon claimed that Ozzy had tried to strangle her after returning home from the  [[Moscow Music Peace Festival]], in a haze of alcohol and drugs.<ref name="interview:Eminemsings">{{cite news|url= https://www.theguardian.com/friday_review/story/0,3605,495951,00.html|title= Eminem sings about killing his wife. My husband actually tried to do it|work=The Guardian |location=London|access-date=24 July 2007 }}</ref> The incident led Ozzy to six months in rehabilitation, after which time, Sharon regained her faith in her husband and did not press charges.<ref name="BBC2087861">{{cite news|url= http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/showbiz/2087861.stm|title= Sharon Osbourne has cancer surgery|work=BBC News|access-date=20 February 2007 | date=3 July 2002}}</ref>

Though he has managed to remain clean and sober for extended periods in recent years,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=141792|title=OZZY OSBOURNE Talks 'Scream', Getting Sober And Why Lady Gaga Is So Great|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100726120215/http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=141792|archive-date=26 July 2010}}</ref> Osbourne has frequently commented on his former wild lifestyle, expressing bewilderment at his own survival through 40&nbsp;years of drug and alcohol misuse.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/06/15/earlyshow/leisure/celebspot/main6584093.shtml|title=Ozzy Osbourne's Genetic Code Being Mapped|work=CBS News|date=15 June 2010|access-date=21 April 2020|archive-date=8 August 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130808184814/http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/06/15/earlyshow/leisure/celebspot/main6584093.shtml|url-status=dead}}</ref> Upon being fired from Black Sabbath in 1979, Osbourne spent the next three months locked in his hotel room taking vast amounts of alcohol and other drugs all day, every day.<ref name="sing365.com">[http://www.sing365.com/music/lyric.nsf/ozzy-osbourne-biography/bfbd522a262cc864482568b7000b0c07 Ozzy Osbourne Biography] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110904001827/http://www.sing365.com/music/lyric.nsf/Ozzy-Osbourne-Biography/BFBD522A262CC864482568B7000B0C07 |date=4 September 2011 }}. Sing365.com. Retrieved on 30 March 2011.</ref> He claims that he would certainly have died if his future wife Sharon had not offered to manage him as a solo artist.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.okmagazine.com/2009/10/ozzy-osbourne-sharon-saved-my-life|title=Ozzy Osbourne: Sharon Saved my Life|date=9 October 2009}}</ref>

In 2003, Osbourne told the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' how he was nearly incapacitated by medication prescribed by a [[Beverly Hills]] doctor.<ref>{{cite news |last=Philips |first=Chuck |author-link=Chuck Philips |title=Harsh Reality of 'Osbournes' No Laughing Matter |url=https://articles.latimes.com/2003/dec/07/entertainment/ca-ozzy7 |access-date=22 July 2012 |newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]] |date=7 December 2003}}</ref> The doctor was alleged to have prescribed 13,000 doses of 32 drugs in one year.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/1449437/Ozzy-prescribed-13000-doses-of-drugs-in-a-year-by-doctor.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220110/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/1449437/Ozzy-prescribed-13000-doses-of-drugs-in-a-year-by-doctor.html |archive-date=10 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |date=14 December 2003 |last=Coman |first=Julian |title=Ozzy 'prescribed 13,000 doses of drugs in a year' by doctor |newspaper=[[The Daily Telegraph]] |location=London}}{{cbignore}}</ref> However, after a nine-year investigation by the Medical Board of California, the Beverly Hills physician was [[Exoneration|exonerated]] of all charges of excessive prescribing.<ref>{{cite news |last=Standish |first=Alice Starr |title=Beverly Hills Doctor 'Vindicated' From Accusations of Malpractice |url=http://www.canyon-news.com/artman2/publish/beverlyhills/Beverly_Hills_Doctor_Vindicated_From_Accusations_of_Malpractice_printer.php |access-date=24 April 2013 |newspaper=Beverly Hills News |date=11 November 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130606161935/http://www.canyon-news.com/artman2/publish/beverlyhills/Beverly_Hills_Doctor_Vindicated_From_Accusations_of_Malpractice_printer.php |archive-date=6 June 2013  }}</ref>

Osbourne experienced [[tremor]]s for some years and linked them to his continuous drug misuse. In May 2005, he found out it was actually [[Parkin (ligase)|Parkin]] Disease, a genetic condition, the symptoms of which are similar to [[Parkinson's disease]]. Osbourne will have to take daily medication for the rest of his life to combat the involuntary shudders associated with the condition.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.contactmusic.com/new/xmlfeed.nsf/mndwebpages/osbourne%20diagnosed%20with%20parkin%20syndrome |title= Ozzy Osbourne – Osbourne Diagnosed with Parkin Syndrome |publisher=contactmusic.com|date= 6 May 2005 }}</ref>{{Unreliable medical source|date=March 2024}} Osbourne has also shown symptoms of mild [[hearing loss]], as depicted in the television show, ''The Osbournes'', where he often asks his family to repeat what they say. At the [[TED (conference)|TEDMED Conference]] in October 2010, scientists from [[Knome]], a Massachusetts human genome interpretation company, joined Osbourne on stage to discuss their analysis of Osbourne's whole genome, which shed light on how the famously hard-living rocker has survived decades of drug misuse.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/17386/117259 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100619040739/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/17386/117259 |url-status=dead |archive-date=19 June 2010 |title=Scientists Probe Ozzy's Body for Medical Miracles |magazine=Rolling Stone |date=15 June 2010 |access-date=20 June 2010 |first=Daniel |last=Kreps}}</ref>

In April 2013, Osbourne revealed through Facebook that he had resumed smoking, drinking and doing drugs for the past year and a half, stating he "was in a very dark place" but said he had been sober again since early March. He also apologised to Sharon, his family, friends, bandmates and his fans for his "insane" behaviour during that period.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.facebook.com/ozzyosbourne/posts/10151607133627318  |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/iarchive/facebook/5461947317/10151607133627318 |archive-date=2022-02-26 |url-access=limited|title=Ozzy Osbourne – For the last year and a half I have been... |publisher=Facebook |access-date=30 June 2013}}{{cbignore}}</ref> In a February 2021 interview with [[Variety (magazine)|Variety]], Ozzy and his son Jack (who has been sober for 17 years) opened up about their recovery. Ozzy admitted to having been sober for about seven years.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://variety.com/2021/music/features/ozzy-sharon-jack-osbourne-addiction-recovery-1234900961/|title=The Osbournes Open Up About Addiction and How the Family Finally Found Recovery|first1=Marc|last1=Malkin|date=5 February 2021}}</ref>