Marie Osmond

Olive Marie Osmond Bio

Olive Marie Osmond (born October 13, 1959) is an American singer, actress, television personality, author, and businesswoman. She first rose to fame as a child country artist with “Paper Roses,” becoming the youngest solo act to top the US country charts at age 14. Alongside her brother Donny Osmond, she headlined the Donny and Marie television variety show, later established a Las Vegas residency spanning over a decade, and pursued Broadway roles including The King and I. Osmond expanded into publishing, radio and talk-show hosting, and philanthropy, notably co-founding the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals. Her career spans music, stage, film, and television, characterized by a family-centered public image, resilience through personal and professional challenges, and lasting influence in American entertainment.

Early Life and Background

Olive Marie Osmond was born October 13, 1959, in Ogden, Utah, coinciding with her father George Virl Osmond’s 42nd birthday. She was the eighth of nine children and the only daughter born to Olive May and George Virl Osmond. Her brothers are Virl, Tom, Alan, Wayne, Merrill, Jay, Donny, and Jimmy Osmond. She was raised as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in her hometown of Ogden, Utah.

Two of her brothers, Virl and Tom, were born deaf, which inspired her later philanthropy work. The remaining Osmond brothers began performing from an early age as a barbershop quartet and eventually found success on The Andy Williams Show in the 1960s. Their success prompted the family to relocate to Los Angeles. When Marie was four years old, in 1964, she made her first televised appearance on The Andy Williams Show. Most of her childhood was spent at home with her mother, along with her deaf brothers Virl and Tom, Donny, and Jimmy. Marie was closest to Donny during their childhood, and the pair often played together while accompanying their brothers to concerts and helping organize stage equipment and wardrobes.

The Osmond family spent much of their free time singing and harmonizing together. “I never knew a day of my childhood life where music wasn’t being played, practiced, written, or sung,” Osmond recalled in 2009. At age 13, she established a career as a country recording artist, choosing country music because she believed it was the only genre that allowed women to have both a family and a career.

Path to Entertainment

Marie Osmond recorded a demo tape as a preteen, singing Dolly Parton’s “Coat of Many Colors.” Don Ovens of MGM Records heard it and, impressed by her singing, signed her to a solo recording contract with the label’s Nashville division. Ovens convinced country artist Sonny James to produce her first recording session. In June 1973, Osmond and her mother flew to Nashville, Tennessee, where she recorded nine previously-memorized songs. Among the tracks was “Paper Roses,” which would be released as her debut single in August 1973.

The song later reached the number-one spot on both the US country songs chart and the Canadian country tracks chart. It also crossed over to the US Hot 100, peaking at number five, and reached number two in the United Kingdom. Osmond’s debut studio album was released in September 1973 and topped the US country albums chart. At 14 years old, she became the youngest female country artist whose debut single hit number one in the US.

By the early 1970s, Donny had established his own recording career apart from his brothers’ group. In 1974, he was recording the song “I’m Leaving It All Up to You” but was having difficulty hitting its high notes. After Marie came in to sing harmony, the song began to launch the siblings’ collaborative recording career. With both receiving credit, the track reached number four on the US Hot 100. As a duo, Donny and Marie had five more US top 40 singles through 1978, including “Deep Purple,” “Ain’t Nothing Like the Real Thing,” and “(You’re My) Soul and Inspiration.”

Olive Marie Osmond Career

Donny and Marie Television Show (1976–1979)

In 1976, programmer Fred Silverman offered Donny and Marie their own television variety series after seeing them perform on The Mike Douglas Show. The resulting show titled Donny and Marie aired on ABC beginning the same year. It was produced by Sid and Marty Krofft and brought in an estimated 14 million viewers. On the program, the sibling duo sang and performed comedy sketches, becoming known for one of the show’s signature songs featuring the line, “I’m a little bit country and I’m a little bit rock and roll.” The siblings often worked 18-hour days learning scripts, changing into costumes, and practicing choreography. The show ran until 1979 and was later re-titled The Osmond Family Hour.

In 1978, Donny and Marie debuted in their first feature film titled Goin’ Coconuts. The film told the story of two siblings caught in criminal activity between two gangs while at a concert in Hawaii. That same year, Marie appeared in the ABC television film The Gift of Love, based on the O. Henry story The Gift of the Magi, starring opposite Timothy Bottoms.

Country Music Comeback (1985–1995)

Osmond returned to country music in the 1980s after being signed to Capitol Records by Nashville label-head Jim Foglesong. Foglesong paired her with Dan Seals to record the duet “Meet Me in Montana.” Released as a single in 1985, it became Osmond’s second number-one single on the US country chart. The song won the Vocal Duo of the Year accolade at the Country Music Association Awards. “Meet Me in Montana” was included on Osmond’s first Capitol album There’s No Stopping Your Heart (1985). The album’s title track became her first solo single since “Paper Roses” to reach number one on the US and Canadian country charts.

Her 1986 duet with Paul Davis, “You’re Still New to Me,” also topped the US and Canadian country charts. That same year, Osmond was nominated by the Academy of Country Music for Top Female Vocalist and by the Grammy Awards for her duet with Dan Seals. Along with her husband and children, Osmond then moved to Nashville to further her country career. She toured the United States on a tour bus doing hundreds of shows a year.

Broadway and Las Vegas Residency

In the 1990s, Osmond established her own collection of dolls, which the QVC network sold. She made her Broadway debut in The King and I in 1997, starring as Anna Leonowens. Variety praised her vocal performance, writing that “Osmond’s soprano has developed into a fine instrument.” She also toured in The Sound of Music as Maria von Trapp between 1994 and 1995, with Variety commenting that she was “a more interesting Maria than that.”

Following her success on Dancing with the Stars in 2007, she reunited with Donny for shows at the MGM Grand Las Vegas in July 2008. That led to an 11-year residency at the Flamingo Las Vegas through November 2019, with a total of 1730 performances—the most of any singing act in Las Vegas history. The Flamingo Showroom was renamed the Donny and Marie Showroom from 2013 to 2019. The duo earned three Las Vegas Review Journal’s Best of Las Vegas Awards in 2012, including “Best Show,” “Best All-Around Performer,” and “Best Singer.”

Recent Career and Television

In 2012, Osmond launched her own talk show titled Marie on the Hallmark Channel. The program featured guests who discussed social issues and provided lifestyle advice. The show debuted in late 2012 with Betty White as her first guest. After one season, Hallmark cancelled the show in 2013. She then became a regular fill-in co-host on the CBS daytime show The Talk, guest-hosting 40 times before becoming an official co-host in 2019, replacing Sara Gilbert.

Osmond departed The Talk in September 2020, citing a focus on family and other television opportunities. Following her departure, she acted in several television films. In 2019, she played Cassie, a Nashville singer, in the Lifetime film The Road Home for Christmas. In 2020, she co-starred in The Christmas Edition, and in 2021, she appeared in A Fiancé for Christmas. The Digital Journal praised her performance in the latter as “fabulous.”

Music Releases

As a solo artist, Osmond’s first studio album in nearly 20 years was released in 2007 titled Magic of Christmas. It was followed by I Can Do This in 2010, which featured hymns and spiritual material. In 2016, Osmond released her tenth studio album Music Is Medicine, her first country album since 1989’s Steppin’ Stone. Produced by Jason Deere, the project featured collaborations with Olivia Newton-John, Sisqo, and Marty Roe of Diamond Rio. Music Is Medicine reached number ten on the US country chart, becoming her first solo album since Paper Roses to make the top ten. In 2021, she released Unexpected, a collection of operatic and traditional pop music featuring the Prague Symphony Orchestra. The album peaked at number six on the US classical albums chart and number one on the US classical crossover albums chart.

Author and Philanthropist

Osmond is the author of several books, three of which made The New York Times Best Seller list. Her first book was 2001’s Behind the Smile: My Journey Out of Postpartum Depression, co-written with Marcia Wilkie and Dr. Judith Moore. The book described how Osmond suffered from postpartum depression following the birth of her child in the late 1990s. She was the first celebrity to speak openly about postpartum depression. Her other books include Might as Well Laugh About It Now (2009), a memoir discussing highlights and challenges from her life; Marie Osmond’s Heartfelt Giving (2010), a book of handcrafted project designs; and The Key Is Love (2013), featuring anecdotes from her personal life including her son’s death.

In 1981, Osmond co-founded the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals alongside actor John Schneider. Inspired to help sick children after watching her deaf siblings struggle to communicate, she has been part of the organization’s annual broadcast to raise funds. Since its creation, the organization has raised an estimated $7 billion for children’s hospitals across the country.

Olive Marie Osmond Awards Won

Marie Osmond has received several notable awards and nominations throughout her career. Her most prominent award win came in 1985 when she received the Country Music Association Award for Vocal Duo of the Year for her duet “Meet Me in Montana” with Dan Seals. She has also received recognition from the Academy of Country Music, Grammy Awards, and Daytime Emmy Awards.

Olive Marie Osmond Family

Marie Osmond has been married three times, including twice to the same spouse. In 1982, she wed her first husband Stephen Lyle Craig, then a basketball player for Brigham Young University. Their first child, Stephen James Craig, was born in 1983. The couple divorced in 1985 but reunited and remarried on May 4, 2011, in a private ceremony at the Las Vegas Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

In 1986, she married record producer Brian Blosil in a private ceremony. Osmond and Blosil had seven children together: two biological children, Rachael and Matthew, and five adopted children, Jessica, Michael, Brandon, Brianna, and Abigail. After 21 years of marriage, the couple divorced in 2007. Osmond has eight children total, including her son from her first marriage.

Personal Life

In 1999, Osmond publicly spoke about her battle with postpartum depression after giving birth to her son Matthew. She discussed her challenges in detail in her 2001 book, explaining that it felt “much darker” than the baby blues and that she experienced panic attacks, fatigue, and suicidal ideations. After discussing postpartum depression on The Oprah Winfrey Show, she received thousands of emails and handwritten letters from people about their own struggles. She also revealed in her book that she had been sexually abused in her youth, which she believed contributed to her struggles with depression.

In February 2010, Osmond’s adopted son Michael died by suicide at age 18. He had battled depression and addiction and had been in rehabilitation at age 12. Osmond returned to work two weeks following her son’s death, stating that the stage was her safe place. In March 2020, she stated that she will leave her fortune to charity upon her death, noting that it would be a disservice to her children to leave the money to them since they need to make their own money. Throughout her career, Osmond has been recognized for her “squeaky clean” public image and her “girl next door” persona. She has been described as the epitome of family-friendly entertainment in American pop culture.