10 most striking moments from the family life of the great and terrible Ozzy Osbourne

On this day, December 3, the great and terrible Ozzy Osbourne was born in Birmingham, UK. This eccentric and charismatic musician is known not only for his musical achievements, but also for his vibrant family life, full of unexpected turns and surprises. Here are ten of Ozzy Osbourne's most memorable moments with his family, highlighting him as the loving father and husband behind his wild rock 'n' roll reputation.

The Osbornes are one of the most famous families in the world. And it’s not even about the popular show “Keeping Up with the Osbournes,” which brought them $50 million - unlike the Kardashians, Ozzy and Sharon were known long before the start of the television project.

Their path to fame began in their youth: Ozzy, who grew up in a not very prosperous family, was interested in music since childhood and became one of the founders of Black Sabbath. The group quickly acquired fans, and the musicians acquired the manners of heavy metal stars (read: drug and alcohol addiction, disgusting habits and a tendency to crazy antics).

After changing several managers, in 1974 the tough and uncompromising Don Arden, father of Sharon Rachel Arden, took over the leadership of the group. Ozzy met Sharon during negotiations with Don. At that time she was 18 and worked as a secretary for her father. Ozzy walked into the office and sat on the floor, a water tap hanging from his neck. Sharon was shocked by this behavior. But the young people became interested in each other and for a long time they had friendly relations.

Ozzy was then married to model Thelma Riley. They had two children together and Thelma's child. Their marriage lasted 12 years. Among the reasons for the breakup were Ozzy's problems with alcohol and his growing interest in Sharon.

When Ozzy was fired from the band in 1979, Sharon began dating him and took his music career into her own hands.

A year later, the couple had their first daughter, Aimee. Kelly was born in 1984. In 1985, Sharon gave birth to Ozzy's son Jack. Sharon skillfully combined caring for children with running a business. Ozzy did not help his wife, but cleverly took the place of the fourth child.

In his autobiography, I Am Ozzy, Osbourne writes candidly about his many years of struggle with alcoholism. According to the singer, he began abusing alcohol at about the age of eighteen, and by the age of forty he became a chronic alcoholic, drinking three to four bottles of strong alcohol (vodka or cognac) a day. He repeatedly tried to get rid of his addiction, going to various rehabilitation centers (including the Betty Ford Clinic), and was a member of Alcoholics Anonymous, but periods of sobriety were followed by binges. During treatment for alcoholism, he also became addicted to drugs (Vicodin, Valium, etc.). Osborne finally stopped drinking and abusing medications only in the mid-2000s.

The Osbournes allowed cameramen to place cameras throughout the house since the hit TV show The Osbournes began in 2002. On May 19, 2002, MTV in England and Ireland began showing the documentary television series The Osbournes about Ozzy Osbourne and his family.

In form, this film was a dramatized and real filming of the life of the characters in the “Osborne family,” filled with everyday troubles and joys. There was a carefully hidden scenario (in the last episode of the last season, you can see how they are holding signs with words). The Ozzy family appeared to be similar to the Simpson family. According to Ozzy himself, “one broadcast destroyed millions of fantasies,” because the “godfather of metal” appeared as a henpecked husband and unlucky dad, unable to cope with his offspring.

That same year, Sharon was diagnosed with cancer, but she insisted that filming of the show continue.

In July 2002, Sharon Osbourne was diagnosed with colon cancer. She later admitted that the tumor had spread to the lymph nodes and became more dangerous than originally thought. However, she insisted on continuing filming the show Keeping Up with the Osbournes. She managed to beat the cancer, although her survival rate was less than 40%.

In 2003, Sharon created her own talk show, The Sharon Osbourne Show, which aired on several US channels, as well as on the British Sky One channel. However, the show was not a ratings success and Osbourne was heavily criticized for failing to perform the basic tasks required of a talk show. The show was canceled in early 2004 after airing one season.

By 2003, The Osbournes was earning the highest ratings on MTV in both the US and the UK. The show's final episode aired in the United States on March 21, 2005.

In 2005, Sharon Osbourne released an autobiographical book, co-authored by Penelope Dening. The book was called “Extreme, or My Autobiography,” and it told about Sharon’s difficult childhood, her ups, downs and personal life. The book became a worldwide bestseller and sold more than 621,000 copies in 15 weeks.

The couple almost divorced after Sharon Osbourne found out on the eve of their 30th anniversary that her husband had repeatedly used drugs and alcohol, although he gave up these bad habits about seven years ago. The couple stopped communicating and separated, but weeks later they began to live together again on the condition that Ozzy join an Alcoholics Anonymous group and undergo a course of therapy. This and other stories of the star couple are presented in Osborne's book Unbreakable.

Despite all the hardships, Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne are still together. They prove by their example that the power of love can overcome any difficulties and adversity. You just need to believe in each other and fight for your happiness to the end.