The ’70s band that consisted of the siblings of the Osmond family, known as the Osmonds, quickly rose to fame after reaching the top charts and they all became teen idols that stole the hearts of millions of Americans. The screaming crowds who were anticipating each of the Osmonds’ new single, album, and performance, created a frenzy known as the Osmondmania.
When the only sister of the Osmond family started her music career herself, she and brother Donny became a duo and reached for the stars together. Their fame grew bigger and bigger and fans never had it enough of the celebrity brother and sister, so soon after, Marie and Donny Osmond had their own show, “Donny & Marie,” which was a huge success.
However, Marie’s success in front of the camera came with a price. She felt the constant pressure to look flawless at all times as producers knew many young girls and women were looking up to her.
“I had producers take me out into the parking lot when I was 103 pounds and tell me that I was obese, disgusting and a disgrace to my family,” Marie told Closer magazine in 2015, adding, “[They said] that I needed to keep food out of my fat face.”
Although things were tough for her, she didn’t quit the show because she knew it would mean a lot of people would lose their job as well. She pretended to be strong, but those harsh words always stayed with her and affected her self-confidence. “Food was becoming my enemy, and it should not be that way,” she told Closer during a 2017 interview.
Being 5ft 5in, Marie dropped to 97 pounds and became underweight. She felt hungry most of the time, and her busy schedule only made things worse for the young music and fashion icon.
Donny felt the pressure too. During the same interview with the Closer Magazine, he said how the show’s director was a “perfectionist,” and added, “There were so many wonderful outtakes that weren’t used because he wanted it to be perfect. What I’ve learned over the years is that imperfection is perfection. You can’t make it too perfect to a point where it’s not real.”
It looked like the famous siblings, who were just 16 and 17 at the time, had a lot on their plate for someone that young.
The producers of the show called it quits in 1978 despite it never lost the interes among the fans. Allegedly, the reason was that Donny started dating his future wife Debra Glenn, with whom he now has 5 sons and 10 grandchildren, and “lost” the title of most eligible bachelor.
The siblings moved on with their music careers. They first started singing and performing when they were very young, somewhere around 4 and 5, and are still very active on the music scene.
Both Donny and Marie have always been honest about how their careers affected their private lives. Being a celebrity with a tight schedule and being a great mother or a father isn’t really easy, but both the siblings show us that when you love something badly, nothing is impossible.
In her book, Marie wrote of the time she had her seventh child in 1999. Just after she gave birth, she left her home for three days and convinced herself that her kids would be better off without a mother. Speaking to the New York Post, she said, “I was absolutely physically exhausted…I went into absolute muscle spasms where I couldn’t get out of bed. I couldn’t move my arms.”
Thankfully, she came to her senses and was later diagnosed and treated for post-natal depression.
“My body was racked with hysterical crying, and I began to understand for the first time why a person would want to take their own life,” she told Daily Mail of that period of her life.
Marie confessed that being the only girl among eight brothers wasn’t easy. They have always been very supportive of her and her career, but she somehow felt the pressure which came from all sides.
“It hadn’t been easy growing up in the music industry in the ’70s – and for two reasons. Not only was I a girl, but I was [also] the only female Osmond. I felt a huge pressure on all sides,” she told the Daily Mail.
Today, just like her brother Donny, Marie has grandchildren who make her life complete. She is working with the non-profit organization Children’s Miracle Network whose goal is to raise funds for children’s hospitals in North America.
Donny and Marie dedicated their whole lives making music and it’s not a surprise their careers span over five decades. They experienced ups and downs, just like anyone else who’s been under the spotlight for so long, but Donny says, “I look back at my life as all these peaks and valleys, and “Donny & Marie”happens to be a peak. The bad times dissipate and you only remember the good. When I see those old clips, sometimes I cringe, but it still brings a nice big smile to my face.”