Olive Marie Osmond (born October 13, 1959) is an American singer, actress, author, and businesswoman. She is known for her girl-next-door image and her decades-long career in many different areas. Her musical career, primarily focused on country music, included a large number of chart singles with four reaching number one on the US Hot Country Songs chart. Her 1973 cover of "Paper Roses", released when she was 14, made her the youngest female act with a number-one country single. Between 1985 and 1986, she also had number-one country singles with "Meet Me in Montana", "There's No Stopping Your Heart", and "You're Still New to Me". As a television personality, she has been a host of Donny & Marie (alongside brother Donny Osmond) and a co-host on The Talk. Her acting career includes appearances in television films and Broadway musicals; she has also written several books and helped found the Children's Miracle Network.
The eighth of nine children in the Osmond family, she made her television debut on The Andy Williams Show. At age 13, she established a career as a country recording artist. She began recording alongside her brother Donny, leading to the creation of their own syndicated variety show, which aired through 1979. In the early 1980s, the Osmond family lost most of its fortune, and Marie performed alongside her siblings. She also attempted to launch an acting career, experimenting with the variety show Marie. She then refocused her attention on the country genre and signed a contract with Capitol Records in 1985. Between 1985 and 1990, she had three number-one singles and released several albums, including There's No Stopping Your Heart (1985).
In the 1990s, Osmond established her own collection of dolls, which the QVC network sold. She made her Broadway debut in The King and I in 1994. Between 1998 and 2000, she reunited professionally with Donny for the network talk show Donny & Marie. During this period, she publicly spoke about her struggles with postpartum depression, later the focus of her book Behind the Smile: My Journey Out of Postpartum Depression. In 2004, she hosted her own radio series, entitled Marie & Friends and, in 2007, appeared in a season of Dancing with the Stars.
She and Donny reunited their act between 2008 and 2019 for a residency at the Flamingo hotel in Las Vegas. The show later produced an album of their duets in 2009. In 2010, she returned with the solo studio album I Can Do This. In 2016, her country album Music Is Medicine followed and then, in 2021, came her classical album, Unexpected. Osmond also co-hosted The Talk between 2019 and 2020. And she appeared in several Lifetime television films, such as The Christmas Edition in 2020.
Olive Marie Osmond was born October 13, 1959, in Ogden, Utah, her father's 42nd birthday. She was the eighth of nine children (and only daughter) born to Olive May and George Virl Osmond. Her brothers are Virl, Tom, Alan, Wayne, Merrill, Jay, Donny and Jimmy Osmond. She was raised as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Virl and Tom were both born deaf. Her remaining brothers began performing from an early age as a barbershop quartet and eventually found success on The Andy Williams Show in the 1960s. Her brothers' success prompted the family to move to Los Angeles. In 1964, when Marie was four years old, she made her first televised appearance on The Andy Williams Show.
Most of Marie's childhood was spent at home with her mother, along with Virl, Tom, Donny, and Jimmy. Marie was closest to Donny during their childhood, and the pair often played together. "Donny and I were rambunctious playmates, who never gave our mother a moment to rest," Osmond recounted in her book Behind the Smile: My Journey Out of Postpartum Depression. She also accompanied her brothers to concerts in her early childhood, often helping organize stage equipment and wardrobes. When the family was home, they spent much of their free time singing and harmonizing with each other. "I never knew a day of my childhood life where music wasn't being played, practiced, written, or sung," she recalled in 2009.
1973–1979: Teenage country music success and collaborations with Donny
By 1970, her brothers had formed their own group, The Osmonds. During this period, they rose to commercial stardom with a series of successful pop singles. It was then suggested that Marie could have her own music career. She chose to market herself as a country music artist, explaining that it was the only genre that allowed women to have a family and career. As a preteen, she recorded a demo tape, singing Dolly Parton's "Coat of Many Colors." Subsequently, Don Ovens of MGM Records heard it; impressed by her singing, he signed her to a solo recording contract with the label's Nashville division.
Ovens convinced country artist Sonny James to produce her first recording session. In June 1973, Osmond and her mother flew to Nashville, Tennessee where she recorded nine previously-memorized songs. Among the tracks was "Paper Roses," which would be released as her debut single in August 1973. The song later reached the number-one spot on both the US country songs chart and the Canadian country tracks chart. The song also crossed over to the US Hot 100, peaking at number five and went to number two in the United Kingdom. Osmond's debut studio album was released in September 1973 and topped the US country albums chart. At 14 years old, she became the youngest female country artist whose debut single hit number one in the US.
In 1974, Osmond's next solo single "In My Little Corner of the World" became a top-40 US country single. Then, in 1975, her "Who's Sorry Now" became a top-40 pop single in the US and Canada. Two corresponding studio albums, named after Osmond's follow-up singles, rose to the US country chart in 1974 and 1975, respectively.
By the early 1970s, Donny had established his own recording career, apart from his brothers' group. In 1974, he was in the studio recording the song "I'm Leaving It All Up to You," but was having difficulty hitting its high notes. After Marie came in to sing harmony, the song began to launch the siblings' collaborative recording career. With both receiving credit, the track reached number four on the US Hot 100, while reaching the top five in Canada, The Netherlands, Ireland, and the UK. An album of the same name sold over 500,000 copies in the US and produced another international top-ten single, "Morning Side of the Mountain." As a duo, Donny and Marie had five more US top 40 singles through 1978: "Deep Purple," "Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing," "(You're My) Soul and Inspiration," and "On the Shelf."
From 1976 to 1979, the siblings hosted their own network variety show called Donny & Marie. The duo released three more studio albums with MGM during the show's run: Featuring Songs from Their Television Show (1976), New Season (1976), and Winning Combination. Both of their 1976 studio albums certified as gold in the US after each had sold 500,000 copies. In 1977, Rick Hall produced Marie's next solo album, entitled This Is the Way That I Feel. Unlike her previous releases, it was collection of pop songs. Released on Polydor Records, This Is the Way That I Feel peaked at number 152 in the US and its title track reached number 39 on the US Hot 100.
1985–1995: Country music comeback in adulthood
Osmond returned to country music in the 1980s. She was signed to Capitol Records by Nashville label-head Jim Foglesong. Foglesong paired her with Dan Seals to record the duet "Meet Me in Montana". Released as a single in 1985, it became Osmond's second number one single on the US country chart, and reached number 19 on Canada's country chart. Additionally, the song won the Vocal Duo of the Year accolade at the Country Music Association Awards. "Meet Me in Montana" was included on Osmond's first Capitol album There's No Stopping Your Heart (1985). The album was praised by critics who found her well-suited to singing country pop material. The disc's title track was chosen as the album's second single and ultimately became her first solo single since "Paper Roses" to reach number one on the US and Canadian country charts. Its third single "Read My Lips" reached the US and Canadian country top five in 1986.