Ozzy Osbourne

Cast

Born

December 3, 1948 · Marston Green, Warwickshire, England, UK

Died

July 22, 2025

Birth name

John Michael Osbourne

One of the pioneers of heavy metal and one of its most commercially successful and iconic artists, Ozzy Osbourne was born in Birmingham, England, as John Michael Osbourne, the son of Lillian (Unitt) and John Thomas Osbourne. After leaving school and having many odd jobs, he ended up in a band with Geezer Butler. This group then split, leading Ozzy and Geezer to join Tony Iommi and Bill Ward in a new band that went under several names (including Earth) that ended up being called Black Sabbath after a song of the same name that appeared on their first album (released 1969/70). He recorded several more albums with Sabbath despite the decline of his relationship with Tony Iommi, which after several break ups led to him leaving/being fired from the band in 1979. After a short time he launched a solo career with a line up behind him that varied immensely from album to album and tour to tour. During the '80s, he was treated several times for alcoholism and was sued twice for the suicides of some of his young fans (cleared completely). Following his No More Tears album he declared he would tour for the last time, though the band later inevitably reunited. Ozzy gained a new generation of fans with his role, as himself, on the reality show The Osbournes (2002), and continued performing, solo and with his band, until the month of his death in July 2025.