Ozzy Osbourne, the legendary Prince of Darkness and one of heavy metal\u2019s most iconic stars, has died. He was 76.<\/p>\n
He died \u201csurrounded by love,\u201d his family said in a statement to The Post Tuesday. \u201cIt is with more sadness than mere words can convey that we have to report that our beloved Ozzy Osbourne has passed away this morning. He was with his family and surrounded by love. We ask everyone to respect our family privacy at this time. Sharon, Jack, Kelly, Aimee and Louis.\u201d<\/p>\n
News of Osbourne\u2019s death comes more than five years after he announced his Parkinson\u2019s disease diagnosis<\/a> in January 2020.<\/p>\n Ozzy Osbourne performing at his farewell concert at Villa Park in Birmingham, England on July 5, 2025. Greg Draven\/X<\/p>\n Osbourne with his wife Sharon Osbourne and actor Jason Mamoa backstage at this final concert. Instagram\/@ozzyosbourne<\/p>\n Osbourne posing with Slah and Axl Rose of Guns N\u2019Roses backstage. Instagram\/@ozzyosbourne<\/p>\n Born John Michael Osbourne\u00a0in Birmingham, England, on Dec. 3, 1948, he was nicknamed \u201cOzzy\u201d in primary school.<\/p>\n He had a challenging childhood, but music provided him with an outlet.<\/p>\n Learning was difficult for him due to dyslexia<\/a>, and the future Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee claimed to have been sexually abused by bullies<\/a> when he was 11. He also recalled attempting suicide <\/a>as a teen.<\/p>\n Osbourne credited The Beatles and their 1964 song <\/a>\u201cShe Loves You\u201d for inspiring him to pursue a music career.<\/p>\n Osbourne onstage at British Summer Time Festival at Hyde Park in 2014 in London. Redferns via Getty Images<\/p>\n Ozzy Osbourne signs copies of his album \u201cPatient Number 9\u201d in 2022 in Long Beach, California. Getty Images<\/p>\n When he was 15, Osbourne dropped out of school <\/a>and worked several trade jobs. <\/p>\n Two years later, he spent six weeks in the Winson Green prison because he was unable to pay a fine after stealing from a clothing store. <\/p>\n Once released, Osbourne and his friend, Geezer Butler, formed their first band, Rare Breed, with Ozzy on vocals.<\/p>\n Black Sabbath members Bill Ward, Geezer Butler, Osbourne and Tony Iommi in 1970. WireImage<\/p>\n Osbourne onstage in London in 1973. Redferns<\/p>\n He became a founding member of Black Sabbath in 1967. The band is highly regarded as a major influence in the development of heavy metal music, <\/strong>with hits like <\/strong>\u201cParanoid,\u201d \u201cWar Pigs\u201d and \u201cIron Man.\u201d<\/p>\n The group, as well as Ozzy himself, would often be criticized by critics for their music\u2019s dark and sometimes \u201csatanic\u201d themes<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen we started gigging way back when, as soon as we started playing this song\u2019s opening chords, young girls in the audience would f\u2013king freak out,\u201d Osbourne told\u00a0NME<\/a> in 2016. \u201cThey thought we were Satan\u2019s f\u2013king friends or something.\u201d<\/p>\n Osbourne attends the Black Sabbath town hall in 2013 in New York City. Getty Images<\/p>\n Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne with their dog. Instagram\/@sharonosbourne<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s when the whole \u2018Prince of Darkness\u2019 s\u2013t started,\u201d he explained about the origin of his nickname. \u201cWhen people get excited about Halloween coming around each year, all I think is, \u2018Well, we used to have Halloween every f\u2013king night.\u2019 \u201c<\/p>\n Ozzy was fired from the band in 1979 for alcohol and drug abuse, which he later revealed felt hypocritical at the time.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019d be lying if I said I didn\u2019t feel betrayed by what happened with Black Sabbath,\u201d he wrote in his 2009 memoir \u201cI Am Ozzy.\u201d<\/a> <\/p>\n Osbourne was kicked out of Black Sabbath in 1929 for drug and alcohol abuse. WireImage<\/p>\n \u201cWe were four blokes who\u2019d grown up together a few streets apart. We were like family, like brothers. And firing me for being f\u2013ked up was hypocritical bulls\u2013t. We were all f\u2013ked up. If you\u2019re stoned, and I\u2019m stoned, and you\u2019re telling me that I\u2019m fired because I\u2019m stoned, how can that be? Because I\u2019m slightly more stoned than you are?\u201d he added.<\/p>\n But that\u2019s when Sharon Arden, daughter of Black Sabbath\u2019s manager, Don Arden, decided to manage Ozzy as a solo act. <\/p>\n Osbourne performs with Black Sabbath in Holmdel, NJ, in 2013. Chad Rachman\/New York Post<\/p>\n Black Sabbath WireImage<\/p>\n He would go on to make 12 solo albums with hits like \u201cCrazy Train,\u201d \u201cMama, I\u2019m Coming Home\u201d and \u201cNo More Tears.\u201d <\/p>\n Ozzy sold over 100 million albums<\/a> as a solo artist and a member of Black Sabbath.<\/p>\n Both the band and Ozzy as a solo act were inducted into the UK Music Hall of Fame in 2005. He joined the\u00a0Rock & Roll Hall of Fame<\/a>\u00a0as a member of Black Sabbath in 2006.<\/p>\n Ozzy also made headlines for his outlandish behavior. <\/p>\n Osbourne bit the head off a bat during a concert in 1982. VH1 Behind The Music<\/p>\n He infamously bit the head off of a bat<\/a> during a concert in January 1982. The next month, Ozzy was arrested in Texas for drunkenly peeing on a cenotaph<\/a>\u00a0made to honor people who died at the\u00a0Battle of the Alamo.<\/p>\n He and Sharon, 72, married that same year. The couple had three kids: Aimee, 41, Kelly, 40, and Jack, 39. The family would go on to reach a new level of fame on a first-of-its-kind reality TV show.<\/p>\n Aside from Aimee, who refused to take part <\/a>in the MTV series, \u201cThe Osbournes\u201d <\/a>invited cameras into their home to chronicle the raw rock-and-roll domestic life of Ozzy and his family. <\/p>\n Osbourne with Sharon Arden in Los Angeles in 1981. AP<\/p>\n Osbourne in the back of a car with his son Louis in 1981. Getty Images<\/p>\n Ozzy and Sharon with their children Aimee, Kelly and Jack in 1987. Getty Images<\/p>\n The show premiered in March 2002 and ran for three years. Its first season was the most-viewed series in MTV history at the time.<\/p>\n Jack later alleged his father \u201chated\u201d filming<\/a> the show.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know how the Kardashians <\/a>have done it for so long \u2014 it sent us crazy at the end,\u201d Ozzy recounted<\/a> in January 2023. <\/p>\n \u201cI am not sorry I did it, but after three or four years I said, \u2018Do you know what, we\u2019re going to lose somebody because it is getting too crazy,’\u201d he continued, adding that the show traumatized him and his family.<\/p>\n Ozzy Osbourne and family filming \u201cThe Osbornes\u201d in 2002. Getty Images<\/p>\n The Osbournes on MTV\u2019s \u201cTRL\u201d in London in 2004. Getty Images<\/p>\n \u201cThere is rock-and-roll fame, which is pretty intense, but that Osbourne level was just unbelievable. The kids paid for it. They all ended up doing drugs. Jack got clean and sober on that show, Kelly messed up on that show, I was messed up, and Sharon got cancer.\u201d (In 2002, Sharon was diagnosed with colon cancer and underwent surgery and chemotherapy.)<\/p>\n Ozzy reunited with Black Sabbath on several occasions and rejoined the group in 2013 to record its final album, \u201c13.\u201d<\/a> He also joined the band on its farewell tour from 2016 to 2017.<\/p>\n Ozzy struggled with heavy drug and alcohol addiction<\/a> throughout his life. He was introduced to cocaine in 1971 and later claimed he took LSD every day for two years while in Black Sabbath.<\/p>\n At the end of his time with the band, the musician said he \u201cgot very drunk and very stoned every single day.\u201d<\/p>\n In September 1989, Ozzy\u2019s challenges got him into legal trouble when he allegedly tried to kill Sharon. <\/p>\n The Osbournes at the 56th Grammy Awards in 2014 in Los Angeles. WireImage<\/p>\n The Osbournes celebrating Ozzy\u2019s 75th birthday in 2023. kellyosbourne\/Instagram<\/p>\n He was too intoxicated to remember the incident, and Sharon ended up dropping the criminal charges against him. But a judge still ordered Ozzy to complete six months in rehab.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve come to a decision that you\u2019ve got to die,\u201d Sharon recalled Ozzy saying before he allegedly strangled her.<\/p>\n \u201cHe was calm \u2013 very, very calm,\u201d she said in the A&E series \u201cBiography:\u00a0The Nine Lives of Ozzy Osbourne.\u201d<\/a> \u201cI felt the stuff on the table, and felt the panic button, and just pressed it. Next thing I know, the cops were there.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not exactly one of my greatest f\u2013king achievements,\u201d Ozzy added.<\/p>\n Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne on stage at the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards on Jan. 26, 2020. Getty Images for The Recording Academy<\/p>\n He was sober for many years until Ozzy said on Facebook<\/a> in April 2013 that he had been drinking and doing drugs for the past year and a half.<\/p>\n In February 2021, he told Variety<\/a> <\/strong>that he had been sober for seven years.<\/p>\n Then, in August 2022, Ozzy stated that he was \u201cfed up\u201d with the staggering amount of gun violence in America and that he and Sharon would be moving to the UK. <\/p>\n Ozzy, Sharon, Jack and Kelly Osbourne turned another television convention upside down and inside out on the series \u201cOsbournes Reloaded.\u201d<\/p>\n Ozzy Osbourne attending the ceremony where the original line-up of Black Sabbath was inducted into the Rock Walk of Fame at Guitar Center in Los Angeles, California, on November 18, 1992. Getty Images<\/p>\n However, he later walked back his statement and said he would rather stay in the States.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m American now. To be honest with you, I don\u2019t want to go back [to England],\u201d he reiterated. \u201cF\u2013k that.\u201d<\/p>\n The rocker canceled his 2023 tour three months before it was scheduled to kick off and declared that his touring career was officially over.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is probably one of the hardest things I\u2019ve ever had to share with my loyal fans\u2026\u201d he captioned the announcement <\/a>on social media. <\/p>\n Osbourne performed on a bat throne with original Black Sabbath members at his farewell concert. Instagram\/@sharonosbourne<\/p>\n The crowd at Villa Park for the \u201cBack to The Beginning\u201d concert. AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n He thanked and apologized to fans who bought tickets to his postponed 2019 shows, saying he was \u201chonestly humbled by the way you\u2019ve all patiently held onto your tickets for all this time.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMy one and only purpose during this time has been to get back onstage,\u201d he said. \u201cMy singing\u00a0<\/strong>voice is fine.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHowever, after three operations, stem cell treatments, endless physical therapy, and most recently, groundbreaking Cybernics (HAL) Treatment, my body is still physically weak,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n Despite the announcement that he was quitting touring in 2023, Ozzy returned to the stage one last time<\/a> earlier this month to perform with Black Sabbath for the band\u2019s final concert<\/a>\u00a0in his hometown.<\/p>\n Ozzy, Kelly and Sharon Osbourne pose backstage following Kelly Osbourne\u2019s first night of \u201cChicago\u201d at the Cambridge Theatre on September 10, 2007, in London, England. Getty Images<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019d love to say \u2018never say never\u2019, but after the last six years or so \u2026 it is time,\u201d he\u00a0told the Guardian<\/a> two months before the concert. \u201cI lived on the road for 50-odd years, and I\u2019ve kind of got used to not picking up my bags and getting on the bus again.\u201d<\/p>\n Ozzy also opened up about his battle with Parkinson\u2019s<\/a> shortly before his death.<\/p>\n \u201cYou wake up the next morning and find that something else has gone wrong,\u201d he said in May. \u201cYou begin to think this is never going to end.\u201d<\/p>\n Kelly took to social media shortly before the rock star\u2019s death to dispel rumors that her famous father was dying<\/a>.<\/p>\n Ozzy Osbourne of Black Sabbath performs during the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games closing ceremony at Alexander Stadium on August 8, 2022, in Birmingham, England. Getty Images<\/p>\n She posted to her Instagram Stories in July after an AI video of Ozzy went viral.<\/p>\n \u201cSo, there\u2019s this video going around on social media, and it\u2019s supposed to be my dad, but it\u2019s AI,\u201d the TV personality told her fans at the time.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd it starts out saying, \u2018I don\u2019t need a doctor to tell me that I\u2019m going to die. I know I\u2019m going to die,\u2019 \u201d she continued. \u201cWhat the f\u2013k is wrong with you people? Why would you spend your time making a video like this?\u201d<\/p>\n The former \u201cFashion Police\u201d host \u2014 who got engaged at her dad\u2019s final Black Sabbath show<\/a> \u2014\u00a0then clarified that Ozzy is \u201cnot dying.\u201d<\/p>\n Bill Ward, Ozzy Osbourne, Geezer Butler and Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath announce their first new album in 33 years and a world tour at the Whisky a Go Go on November 11, 2011, in West Hollywood, California. Getty Images<\/p>\n \u201cYes, he has Parkinson\u2019s, and yes, his mobility is completely different than it used to be, but he\u2019s not dying,\u201d she said. \u201cWhat is wrong with you?\u201d<\/p>\n Kelly also took a moment to slam the rumors that her parents had a \u201csuicide pact\u201d after Sharon suggested as much<\/a> in 2007.<\/p>\n \u201cThat was bulls\u2013t my mum said to get attention one time,\u201d Kelly concluded. \u201cAnd my dad\u2019s not dying. Stop.\u201d<\/p>\n Ozzy is survived by Sharon, and their children: Aimee, Kelly, and Jack, as well as his children, Jessica, 45, and Louis, 50, from his first marriage<\/a> to Thelma Riley, 71.<\/p>\n Ozzy also adopted Riley\u2019s son from a previous relationship, now 59, during their marriage, which lasted from 1971 to 1982. The late star also had 10 grandchildren.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t