Marie Osmond’s life has been anything but boring.
Her list of accomplishments in both the entertainment and business world is as impressive as the number of years she’s been an entertainer, which, by the way, is 59.
She’s held so many titles — talk show host, singer, actress and author to name a few — but ask what her single most important role has been during her 62 years on this Earth and she doesn’t hesitate to answer.
“Being a wife and a mother,” Osmond says. “It takes a lot of work, but if you spend the time on it you need to, it’s fulfilling and very challenging.”
You know what else is challenging?
Osmond’s schedule.
On this particular fall afternoon, she was driving to her son’s house, where she planned to spend the next three days babysitting her grandchildren so their parents could have a kid-free getaway.
After that, she had to shoot a commercial for weight-loss meal delivery service, Nutrisystem, and then was scheduled to record a couple of songs that will be released later this year. Osmond mentioned her plans nonchalantly, like they were doctor appointments or dinner reservations, although to most, making songs and commercials is not part of an average day routine.
Osmond is passionate about a lot of things like family, faith and work, but one of her top passions is Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals, which she cofounded in 1983. Her voice brims with excitement as she talks about the charity, almost as if it were another one of her babies, of which she has eight (three biological and five adopted).
“I was blessed to be successful in my life, and I believe that came from hard work,” says Osmond, who lives in Utah with her husband, Steve Craig, “but I do know God has given me so much. How can you not give back?”
Auntie M
The kids who benefit from Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals call her “Auntie M.”
Osmond showers these boys and girls with the same kindness and love she does her own children.
“Just to see what these kids go through,” she says. “They’re motivational and amazing. They’re just so full of hope.”
Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals oversees 170 hospitals throughout the United States and Canada. Every penny raised goes to the hospitals. In many other charities, maybe just 30% goes to the actual cause, Osmond says, but Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals is different. It’s also unique because the money raised is undesignated, so instead of having to use it, say, for medical equipment, the hospitals are allowed to put the money toward whatever it needs at the time — medical treatments, mental health services or financial assistance for families.
Osmond says the charity helps more than 10 million children a year.
“It feeds my soul,” she says.
Patients she’s met over the years have made lasting impressions on Osmond.
One boy was 7 years old when he had his leg amputated due to cancer. Today, he’s a Paralympian and recently married a woman who works for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals. Another child was in a store with Osmond and a group of other children when she offered to buy everyone a toy. He asked if he could buy something for his friend back home instead because his friend was sicker than he was.
“If we could all live like that,” she says.
Catapulted To Stardom
Osmond has spent her entire life in front of a camera, starting at age 3 when she was introduced to the world on “The Andy Williams Show.” She still fondly recalls the fitting she had for her green feathered dress.
She grew up in Utah as the only girl in a family with eight boys, some of which rose to fame early in life as The Osmond Brothers. The young men captured the hearts of teenage girls everywhere, but it was Marie who eventually won the world’s attention. At the age of 12 she debuted her first hit single, “Paper Roses,” catapulting her to country music stardom.
Four years later, Marie shared the stage with her brother, Donny on the variety show, “Donny & Marie.” It was so popular it was dubbed into 17 languages.
Since then, Osmond has made too many appearances on television to count. She competed on “Dancing With the Stars” in 2007 and placed third overall. During that competition, Osmond battled a handful of personal problems. She fainted on live television, was going through a divorce with her second husband and her father, George Osmond, died unexpectedly. Her son, Michael, then 16, had also entered a rehabilitation program during her time on the show. Three years later, he died by suicide.
These are all things that would bring most anyone to their knees, but Osmond kept going on.
“My mother and my father taught me not to collapse in a pile,” says Osmond, whose mother, Olive, is also deceased. “Picking yourself up and getting to work is the best thing you can do for yourself.”
During the same year as “Dancing With the Stars,” Osmond became a spokeswoman for Nutrisystem after losing 50 pounds with the diet plan. In her media interviews about her weight loss, she spoke candidly about the pressure to shed pounds as a young girl on television, remembering a time when she was told by “Donny & Marie” producers that the show would be canceled if she didn’t lose more weight. She weighed 110 pounds at the time and later dropped to 93.
In 2019, she and Donny ended their 11-year Las Vegas residency, where they performed more than 1,700 shows at the Flamingo Las Vegas Hotel and Casino. That same year, she committed to one season as co-host of “The Talk” on CBS.
During one of the episodes, Osmond mentioned neither she nor her husband plan to leave money to their children after their deaths. Instead, the money will go to charity. The comment received attention from media all over the country, so much so that Osmond found herself having to defend their plan.
“I know what money does to children,” she said. “You rob them from that ability to learn through work and to have worth. I would rather help those people who are really in need.”
But, she adds, it’s not like she refuses to help them.
“I’m not a butthead mother,” she says with a laugh. “My husband and I help our children with getting their cars or if they need help buying a home, and education is something we will always help them pay for. I would much rather give them education than money.”
Jack Of All Trades
Osmond realizes that she didn’t have a normal life as a child, but that was something she didn’t understand until she was much older.
Because when she was younger, her parents saw to it that she was more than just a country music singer and star of her own television show. They kept her grounded and taught her practical skills, whether she wanted to learn them or not. After long days working on “Donny & Marie,” the teenager, who still lived with her parents, would walk through the front door each night knowing she still had chores to do. And if she talked back to her mother, well she had to clean the toilets, as well. She learned how to crochet, make bread, can fruit and even catch a fish with a bow and arrow. Those random skills have come in handy over the years, Osmond says. Just a few days before this interview, she taught one of her daughters how to crochet. And before that, she taught another the process of canning.
On Feb. 10, Osmond will be the guest speaker at the Ruth & Norman Rales Jewish Family Services Reflections of Hope luncheon at the Boca West Country Club. She also plans to release a new album next month called “Unexpected,” which will include Broadway hits and classical music. Osmond received years of training learning to sing opera and even surprised herself with how different she sounds. She’s over the moon about her new endeavor.
This new career shift, along with her charity commitment to the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals, is enough to keep most anyone motivated, but what really keeps her going is the love of her family — especially, her six grandkids.
“I’m just grandma,” she says proudly. “Although the other day my grandson was in Costco and saw [a picture] of me with Nutrisystem and said, ‘what’s grandma doing in here?’”
It goes to show that Osmond really is just about everywhere. If it’s up to her, she’ll continue to be everywhere for years to come.