Alex Carson
From her auspicious teenage years to her years performing alongside her older brother Donny Osmond on a hit television variety show to her lengthy Las Vegas residency, Marie Osmond has always displayed an uncanny gift for reinventing herself over and over again.
That being said, Marie Osmond’s life hasn’t always been easy – nor has it been without it’s more tragic moments. She’s been through two divorces and dealt with the heartbreaking loss of a child – something a mother should never have to deal with. But throughout all of it, Marie has demonstrated that she has a tremendous amount of inner strength.
She’s proven time and time again that she can overcome any and all obstacles that have come her way. And it’s very clear that, that even after being in the spotlight for more than a half-century, she’s not even close to calling it quits.
Join Facts Verse as we take a look at what the 62-year-old performer and former co=host of The Talk is up to these days. Spoiler alert: She’s looking downright stunning for her age!
Marie’s Rise To Fame
Olive Marie Osmond was born on the thriteenth of October, 1959, in Ogden, Utah, to parents Olive Davis and George Virl Osmond. She was the eighth of nine children and the Osmond’s only daughter.
Marie grew up in a very devout Latter Day Saint’s household that had already successfully carved out careers for her siblings with the immensely popular musical group the Osmond Brothers.
That group was originally comprised of Alan, Wayne, Merrill, and Jay Osmond, but it’s line-up has changed substantially over the years. As of 2022, The Osmond Brother’s consists solely of Merril and Jay.
Marie’s Hollywood career began when she was just four years old when she appeared with The Osmond Brothers on The Andy Williams Show. She continued to join in with her sibling’s musical act, occasionally performing alongside them on TV throughout the 1950s.
In the 1970s, Marie stepped out from behind her famous siblings’ shadows and started making a name for herself. She recorded her debut solo album which was more country than it was pop in 1973, while still making concert appearances alongside her brothers.
Her first single as a solo artist, ‘Paper Roses’, became a number one country hit and reached the top five on the Billboard pop charts. The song ended up going gold, and her debut album of the same name ended up being certified gold as well.
Marie then released a follow-up single titled ‘In My Little Corner of the World’, along with another album of the same title the following year. Once again, she managed to chart in the Billboard country Top 40.
In 1975, Marie released her third album, Who’s Sorry Now. The title track of that record broke the Top 40 just as her previous offerings had.
In 1974, Marie had two pop duet hits with her brother Donny – ‘Morning Side of the Mountain’ and ‘I’m Leaving it up to You’ – the latter of which became a Top 20 country hit, while both songs reached the Top 10 on the pop charts.
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And don’t go anywhere just yet. Stay tuned to learn all about what kinds of projects Marie Osmond has been keeping herself busy with in recent years.
The Birth Of Donny & Marie’ Variety Show
Donny and Marie’s duets proved to be so popular that in 1975 they teamed upto do a variety show together. The show proved to be so successful that ABC decided to pick it up and turn it into a television series.
That TV program, aptly titled Donny & Marie, ran for two years before being retooled as the ‘The Osmond Family Hour’ in 1979.
In 1976, Marie and Donny stopped by to visit fellow 1970s singing stars Sonny Bono and Cher on their hit television program, The Sonny and Cher Show.
The Osmond’s sported bright red sweaters bearing their initials while performing a cover of the Wings’ song ‘Silly Love Songs’ together.
Marie released her fourth solo studio album, This is the Way That I Feel, in 1977. This album was much different from her previous offerings, which mainly saw her covering country artist hits. Instead, it veered off into a notably more ‘poppy’ direction. The album included songs both written for her as well as songs that were penned by The Bee Gees.
Despite being backed by some serious star power, the album was, unfortunately, a commercial flop.
Also in 1977, Marie Osmond started her own cosmetics line. Her skin care products and personalized fragrance line was first sold at the now-defunct retailer Kmart.
Marie’s Solo TV Career
Just as she had done musically, Marie Osmond eventually went solo on TV as well. In 1979, she starred in a sitcom pilot for a show called ‘Marie’. The series didn’t end up getting picked up, but Marie’s other solo television effort did.
NBC gave the lone Osmond her very own variety program in 1980. And of course, the show was titled simply, Marie. Although, the show only lasted a half-season before getting axed by the network.
That same year, Marie got engaged to acting student Jeff Clayton. However, just month’s after accepting Clayton’s proposal, Osmond called the marriage off.
Throughout the 80s, Marie switched record labels several times. While establishing herself as a country artist, Marie ditched RCA Records to instead sign with Capital Records.
With Capital, Marie recorded her album ‘There’s No Stopping Your Heart’. The album ended up having two number one hit singles – one with it’s title track and another being a duet with Dan Seals titled ‘Meet Me In Montana’.
In 1982, Marie got married to a basketball player from Brigham Young University named Stephen Lyle Craig. A year later, she gave birth to a son named Stephen James Craig.
Never one to shy away from the spotlight, Marie frequently popped up on-screen throughout the 80s. In addition to co-hosting ABC’s Ripley’s Believe It or Not with Jack Palance, Marie also starred in two made-for-TV films – Side by Side: The True Story of the Osmond Family, in which she played her mother Olive, and the TV drama film ‘I Married Wyatt Earp’.
Unfortunately, Marie and Steve’s first stab at love didn’t last. The couple got divorced in 1985 – but that wouldn’t be the end of their love story together. More on that in just a bit.
In 1986, Marie’s album ‘I Only Wanted You’ featured the duet ‘You’re Still New To Me’ with Paul Davis. The song went to number one, while Marie’s follow-up single, the album’s title track, also made it into the top ten.
Marie wrapped up the 80s with two back-to-back album’s, 1988s ‘All In Love’ and 1989s ‘Steppin Stone’ – both of which were considered commercial failures.
Marie’s Second And Third Marriages
In 1986, Marie married a man by the name of Brian Biosil. The couple proceeded to have two children together while adopting five more. They remained together until 2007, when they announced that they were divorcing amicably.
In 2010, tragedy struck when Marie’s son Michael committed suicide by jumping from the eighth floor of his Los Angeles apartment. Reportedly, Michael had been battling depression and addiction since he was 12. That being said, when an autopsy was performed, no drugs were found in his system.
In 2011, Marie remarried her first hubby, Stephen Lyle Craig. She even wore the same wedding dress from their first marriage ceremony. Marie and Stephen have been happily married ever since.
1990s To Today
Marie was largely absent from the music industry in the 90s. She only released one song that charted in 1995 – ‘What Kind of Man (Walks on a Woman). That same year, Marie would appear in the sitcom ‘Maybe This Time’ alongside Betty White. Despite featuring and an all-star cast, the series was canceled after just one season.
In the mid-90s, Osmond had a fairly successful run performing in Broadway musicals such as The King and I and The Sound Of Music. Then in 1998, Marie and her brother Donny were given their onw talk show, simply titled “Donny and Marie’, which ran for two seasons.
In 2001, Marie authored the first of three books, a memoir entitled Behind the Smile: My Journey Out. She’d follow that up with 2009’s Might as Well Laugh About It Now, and 2013’s The Key Is Love.
In 2007, Marie was a contestant on ‘Dancing with the Stars’. She and her partner, pro dancer Jonathan Roberts, ended up coming in third place, only to be one-upped by her brother Donny when he took home the coveted Mirrorball Trophy when he competed on the show two years later.
Beginning in 2008, Donny and Marie would join forces once again as a brother-sister act headlining a long-running show at the Flamingo Casino in Las Vegas. The 90-minute variety show would prove to be incredibly popular. It continued for 11 seasons before wrapping up in 2019
In 2010, Marie released her album ‘I Can Do This’, a deeply personal album full of introspective ballad vocal tracks such as the song Pie Jesu.
In 2016, Marie would release her tenth studio album, Music is Medicine. Five years later in 2021, she put out her 11th and most recent album, Unexpected.
While she had appeared as a regular fill-in on the daytime talk program in 2013 and 2014, Marie became a full-fledged co-host of CBS’ The Talk In 2019, replacing Sara Gilbert. Osmond left the show in September 2020 while stating that she wanted to spend more time with her family.
Marie Osmond has managed to stay relevant for more than six decades now. It seems like every few years, she comes out and totally reinvents herself. And really, we’ve only covered a small fraction of her many accomplishments in this video.
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What inspires you the most about the life and career of Marie Osmond? And did you know that she’s put out 11 solo and seven duet albums with her brother Donny? Let us know in the comments.
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