Sharon Osbourne
Sharon Osbourne recently made her return to television, replacing Brandy as a judge on NBC’s hit show “America’s Got Talent.” Sharon started out her career not as a television star, but as a music manager and promoter. She was born in Brixton, London in 1952. Her father, Don Arden, was a music promoter and rock-n-roll businessman.
She met future husband Ozzy Osbourne at the young age of 17. She was working as a receptionist for her father who was serving as the manager for Ozzy’s band, Black Sabbath. Ozzy was fired as the lead singer in 1979 and Sharon took the job as his manager. As practical and hard working as her father, she was able to turn Ozzy’s solo career into a huge success. It was Sharon who thought of the flourishing Ozzfest tour festival that just celebrated its 10th anniversary.
Until 2002, Sharon was a strong influence in the Osbourne family, but remained mainly in the background. That ended when MTV signed the family to do the reality show “The Osbournes.” The show was an overnight success, bringing renewed fame to Ozzy, but making Sharon a star as well. The show generally focused on the family, including son Jack and daughter Kelly. Viewers saw Sharon battle cancer during the show, which she insisted on filming during her illness. The show ended its run in 2005. E! just recently aired a “True Hollywood Story” featuring the Obsournes and their lives.
In 2003, Sharon got her own talk show, “The Sharon Osbourne Show.” Unfortunately, the charm and personality she showed on “The Osbournes” did not carry through to her talk show and it was cancelled in 2004. Since 2004, Sharon has appeared as a judge and mentor on the British reality show “The X Factor,” which also features Simon Cowell as a judge.
Sharon has also written an autobiography titled “Extreme.” Published in 2005, “Extreme” covers Sharon’s childhood (including difficulties she had with her father) as well as the highlights and lowlights of her marriage to Ozzy. The book went to #1 on the bestseller list in the UK and sold over 2 million copies. It was named the Biography of the Year for 2005 by British Book Awards.
She is short in statue at 5’ 2”, but Sharon has a reputation for being able to handle herself in any situation and not mincing words. After she ended her management contract with the rock band Smashing Pumpkins, she said it was due to a medical condition. She then went on to say lead singer Billy Corgan was “making me sick!”
During her first night on “America’s Got Talent,” Sharon showed that she would not be pushed around. When head judge Piers Morgan got a little too rough with young contestants, Sharon stormed off the set, saying, “I didn’t sign up for this.” She eventually returned, but you can be sure she will make her opinions known this season.
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