Ozzy Osbourne, Rock Legend, Dead at 76

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The world has lost a rock legend. 

Ozzy Osbourne, the Black Sabbath rocker known for his decades-long career in the music industry, died on July 22, his family has announced. He was 76.

“It is with more sadness than mere words can convey that we have to report that our beloved Ozzy Osbourne has passed away this morning," they said in a statement shared to the U.K. Press Association. "He was with his family and surrounded by love. We ask everyone to respect our family privacy at this time.”

The musician's passing comes after he had experienced a series of health issues over the years, including a battle with Parkinson's disease. In June 2022, Sharon Osbourne shared that her husband was undergoing a "major operation" that was "really going to determine the rest of his life."

Born John Michael Osbourne in Birmingham, England, Ozzy struggled in school, but it was clear early on that his future would be in the spotlight. As he shared in the 2020 film Biography: The Nine Lives of Ozzy Osbourne, "The only thing I had a passion for was music."

That passion turned him into a superstar. In 1968, Ozzy, Tony IommiTerry "Geezer" Butler and Bill Ward formed Black Sabbath, a band name that came to Tony after he noticed the public's interest in scary movies. The move, Ozzy once told Rolling Stone, "was the f--king change of my life."

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Not long after the band started to take off with its self-titled debut album and follow-up Paranoid, Ozzy met and married his first wife Thelma Riley. Together, they welcomed two children: Jessica and Louis (Thelma also had a son, Elliot Kingsley, from a previous relationship).  

Meanwhile, as the group became more successful, Ozzy realized living life as a rock star wasn't all it was cracked up to be. "Money would be the alcohol and the drugs," the musician said in Biography: The Nine Lives of Ozzy Osbourne, "and I behaved badly."

By 1979, Ozzy was kicked out of the band, mourning the loss of his dad—and soon the end of his marriage. "That was one of the lowest points of my life," he continued. "But my life was about to change." 

Change it did. Ozzy launched a solo career, with his debut album Blizzard of Ozz dropping in 1980 and Diary of a Madman the following year. However, his music wasn't the only thing to make headlines, his onstage antics did, too, including his biting of a bat during a 1982 show.

"I just thought it was a rubber bat," Ozzy said in the documentary, "and I just put it in my mouth and crunched down. I just f--king bit into it, you know, being the f--king clown that I am [and was like], 'Oh no! It's real.'"

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On the personal front, Ozzy officially split from Thelma in 1982 and married Sharon, who was also his manager, soon after. Together, they welcomed three children: Aimee, Kelly and Jack

"She's the only one I've ever loved in my life," the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer said about Sharon in the documentary. "I mean, she's my soulmate."

While there were many happy memories in their decades-long marriage, there were difficult times, too, including Ozzy's battle with addiction, his 1989 attack on Sharon, her 2002 fight against colon cancer (she was declared cancer free in 2003) and their 2016 breakup (with the couple renewing their vows in 2017).

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Some of the family's ups and downs were documented on The Osbournes, a reality TV series that aired on MTV from 2002 to 2005 and starred Ozzy, Sharon, Kelly and Jack. The show became a huge success.

"He'd crossed over," Jack said on Biography: The Nine Lives of Ozzy Osbourne. "He'd made that leap from being that guy on the poster in your teenage son's bedroom to now the guy on the TV in the family living room and mom and dad loved him just as much in a different way."

Prince of Darkness, TV star, husband and father: Ozzy had done it all. "I never thought I'd make it this far," Ozzy told Rolling Stone in 2018 while reflecting on his career. "Fifty years is a lot. I don't understand why I'm alive still after the hell-raising days. I guess whoever the man is upstairs, if there even is one, wants me to stick around."

Keep reading for a look at his family tree...

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Ozzy Osbourne

Born in Birmingham, England, Ozzy Osbourne—a.k.a. John Michael Osbourne—entered the world in 1948. However, it was another 20 years before his heavy metal band Black Sabbath—which he formed with Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward—debuted.

As the group's star rose, Ozzy wed Thelma Riley in 1971. Together, they welcomed kids Louis and Jessica Osbourne, who joined Thelma's son Elliot Kingsley from a previous relationship. However, the Prince of Darkness learned fame has a dark side.

"Money would buy the alcohol and the drugs," he said in the 2020 doc Biography: The Nine Lives of Ozzy Osbourne. “I behaved f--king badly.”

In 1979, Ozzy was fired from Black Sabbath and launched his solo career. He and Thelma divorced in 1982 and he wed Sharon Osbourne (whose dad managed Black Sabbath) that year.

Throughout their marriage, Ozzy and Sharon were honest about their low points—which included him physically attacking her while under the influence in 1989 and the 2016 breakup she attributed to his infidelity—and high ones, welcoming their kids Aimee, Kelly and Jack Osbourne in the '80s and renewing their vows in 2017.

Many of the family's ups and downs played out on their reality show The Osbournes, which ran from 2002 to 2005.

Later, Ozzy stepped back from the spotlight due to his health, including his Parkinson's disease battles and surgeries for injuries caused by a 2003 ATV accident. He played in Black Sabbath's final show in July 2025 and passed away weeks later at age 76.

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Sharon Osbourne

Sharon, born in 1952, became Ozzy’s manager in 1979 following his split from Black Sabbath, but their business relationship soon turned romantic.

"I was still married to my ex-wife," the Rock & Roll Hall of Famer admitted in Biography: The Nine Lives of Ozzy Osbourne, "but I fell in love with Sharon."

In addition to managing Ozzy, Sharon has repped groups like The Smashing Pumpkins, Motorhead and The Electric Light Orchestra. However, her career expanded into TV after the family's history-making series. In addition to starring on The Osbournes, Sharon competed on Celebrity Apprentice, served as a judge on The X Factor and America’s Got Talent, and hosted The Talk for 11 years before her 2021 firing.

Like Ozzy, Sharon opened up about her health over the years, including her 2002 battle with colon cancer (she was declared cancer-free the following year), a 2012 preventive double mastectomy and a medical issue that landed her in the hospital in 2022. And even after all of life's ups and downs, the couple remained each other's No. 1 fans.

“We’re two oddballs, and we were two wild young people that found each other," Sharon told E! News in 2023. "I think we’re cut from the same mold. It’s not been easy. No relationship is easy, and you have to work at it. You get your ugly times, your bad times and your horrific times. But if you love each other, you’ll work through."

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Aimée Osbourne

Born in September 1983, Aimee is the oldest of Ozzy and Sharon’s three children.

And she’s inherited her parents’ love of music—singing and writing songs both under her own name and with the band ARO.

But unlike her family members, Aimee didn’t appear on The Osbournes in the aughts.

“It just felt extraordinarily nepotistic,” she said on a 2021 episode of The Michael Anthony Show about her decision. “Being so aware of my father’s presence in the media growing up, my private life with him and my family was something to be protected.”

Noting she was a teenager at the time, Aimee added she didn’t want to lose that privacy or expose how “things were complicated within the family.” Plus, she felt like it just wasn’t a match careerwise.

“I knew so young what I wanted to do, and I really wanted to do it on my own merit, be taken seriously,” she continued. “I really believed in what I wanted to do and that avenue just didn’t fit into any of those visions that I had for myself and my future.”

Still, Aimee hasn’t avoided the spotlight completely. In fact, she acted in MTV’s 2003 adaptation of Wuthering Heights, did voiceover work for the 2014 animated film Postman Pat: The Movie and starred in her own music videos.

As for where Aimee stands with her siblings, Kelly has expressed how the two don’t communicate.

"We don’t talk," Kelly said on Armchair Expert With Dax Shepard in 2024. "We’re just really different. She doesn’t understand me, I don’t understand her."

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Kelly Osbourne

Arriving 13 months after her sister, Kelly is Sharon and Ozzy’s youngest daughter.

A multihyphenate, she's an actress (starring in Life as We Know It and So Undercover with Miley Cyrus), a singer (having released two albums), a reality star (appearing on The Osbournes and Dancing With the Stars) a competition judge (serving on panels for Project Runway: Junior and Australia’s Got Talent) a designer and a TV host, having helmed series like Project Catwalk, E!’s Fashion Police and Lego Masters Jr.

As she’s navigated life in the spotlight, Kelly has been open about challenges she’s faced, including her battle with addiction (she’s now sober), past breakups (she was previously engaged to model Luke Worrall and chef Matthew Mosshart) and public scrutiny over her body.

“My life has come very, very far, and I am just so grateful for every mistake that I made in my life, for every lesson learned, for all of it,” she told Us Weekly in 2024. “I have such an incredible life. What could I possibly complain about?”

That life includes her son Sidney, born in November 2022, and her fiancé Sid Wilson, who proposed in July 2025.

With Sidney arriving 18 months after she got sober, "I truly believe that my baby saved me and made me a whole human," she added to Us. "I don’t think I knew what love was before having the baby. I don't think I truly had a purpose. I just went from thing, to thing, to thing, and this level of just self-hate and self-doubt that I used to have would take me out."

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Jack Osbourne

Sharon and Ozzy's youngest child Jack entered the world in November 1985.

After starring on The Osbournes, he dabbled in acting—landing small roles on Dawson’s Creek and Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen’s movie New York Minute. Jack also continued to appear on reality and competition shows, including Union Jack, Jack Osbourne: Adrenaline Junkie, Dancing With the Stars and Special Forces: World's Toughest Test.

However, he’s worked behind the camera too, producing documentaries like 2011's God Bless Ozzy Osbourne and the 2013 series Alpha Dogs. Often times, Jack wears both hats—producing and starring in shows like Ozzy & Jack’s World Detour and his paranormal series Portals to Hell.

Jack has also shared much of his personal life with his fans, including his mental health struggles, road to getting sober in 2003, and multiple sclerosis diagnosis he revealed in 2012.

"I kind of look at the diagnosis as a huge silver lining to be honest with you," he told Today in 2017. “Before this, I would just be a typical 20-something-year-old and lounge around and just kind of kick it when I could. I don't do that anymore. I hate wasting days. I'm always doing something and trying to accomplish something, whether it's work, something social or doing something active. So for that, I'm appreciative of it."

He's also grateful for his family, which includes daughters Pearl, Andy and Minnie with ex-wife Lisa Stelly and daughter Maple with wife Aree Gearheart.

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Louis Osbourne & Jessica Osbourne

Ozzy’s oldest kids from his marriage to Thelma admittedly didn’t spend a lot of time with the rocker, who was often away on tour.

"My recollection from my childhood with dad is that he'd be away for very long periods of time, and there'd always be a period of adjustment when he came home, and then it'd get to normality and then he'd go again," Jessica said in the 2011 documentary God Bless Ozzy Osbourne. "So, it was a very erratic chidhood with dad."

And when he was home, he'd frequently go to the pubs.

"When he was around and he wasn't pissed, he was a great father," Louis added. "But that was kind of seldom really."

After Ozzy and Thelma split, he and his kids still kept in touch. In fact, there was an episode of The Osbournes where Ozzy received a call that Jessica had given birth and he was a grandfather for the first time. Louis has also shared that he sees Aimee, Kelly and Jack sporadically.

"I don’t travel half as much as I used to and they are in America," he told Birmingham Live in 2012. "There is more chance of us seeing each other in a random New York hotel than us all getting round a table for a Sunday lunch. We meet on special occasions."

He and his dad, however, make it a point to check in on the regular.

"Dad usually calls on a Sunday afternoon for a catch up and when he comes over to the UK we take the kids down," Louis added. "Dad is great, very much a doting grandad."

Little has been shared publicly about Louis and Jessica's brother Elliot.

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