All products featured on Vogue are independently selected by our editors. However, we may receive compensation from retailers and/or from purchases of products through these links.
Ozzy Osbourne—the legendary Black Sabbath singer and television personality—has died, according to his family. “It is with more sadness than mere words can convey that we have to report that our beloved Ozzy Osbourne has passed away this morning,” the Osbournes said in a statement released on Tuesday. “He was with his family and surrounded by love. We ask everyone to respect our family privacy at this time.” The musician was 76.
Born in the Aston area of Birmingham, England, John Michael Osbourne—later known as Ozzy—took an early interest in music. “The only thing I had a passion for was music,” he said in the 2020 film Biography: The Nine Lives of Ozzy Osbourne. He was finally thrust into the heady world of rock and roll when he formed the group Black Sabbath in his native city in 1968, alongside guitarist Tony Iommi, bassist Geezer Butler, and drummer Bill Ward.
After releasing their self-titled debut album in 1970, Black Sabbath found a global spotlight with their follow-up record, Paranoid, released later the same year. Featuring hits such as “Iron Man” and “Paranoid,” the album played a pivotal role in shaping the heavy-metal genre that we know today. (“They’ve cut some amazing albums since this, but nothing has been quite this flawless,” reads a review from Rolling Stone.)
Kicked out of the band for his heavy substance use in the late 1970s, Osbourne struggled with addiction while living life on the road. “Money would be the alcohol and the drugs,” he said in Biography: The Nine Lives of Ozzy Osbourne, “and I behaved badly.” Nevertheless, Osbourne eventually bounced back, going on to launch a successful solo career with hits such as 1980’s “Crazy Train.”
It was during this time that he earned the moniker the Prince of Darkness, thanks to his haunting vocals, all-black outfits, and striking presence as a performer. Indeed, one of his most notorious stage moments came in 1982, when Osbourne bit the head off of a live bat (thinking it was a rubber toy) at a concert in Des Moines. “Immediately, something felt wrong—very wrong,” he later reflected.
In the early 2000s, Osbourne was introduced to a whole new audience when he starred in the reality series The Osbournes with his wife, Sharon, and their children Kelly and Jack. (Osbourne also had four other children: Aimee, his eldest daughter with Sharon, and three children with his first wife, Thelma Riley—daughter Jessica and sons Louis and Elliot Kingsley.)
So too did Osbourne develop a reputation for his inimitable personal style. The singer leaned into his Prince of Darkness persona, often punctuating his all-black looks with round tinted glasses and cross necklaces. (The latter piece of jewelry had sentimental value: Osbourne’s father was a toolmaker who made pendants for him and the other members of Black Sabbath. Continuing to wear them served as an homage to his late dad: “They’re very precious to me,” Osbourne said in an interview.)
More recently Osbourne had battled Parkinson’s disease, receiving a formal diagnosis in 2019. Nevertheless, his love for music and performing endured. The five-time Grammy Award winner was inducted into the Rock Roll Hall of Fame in 2024, and just weeks ago he reunited with his Black Sabbath bandmates for a farewell concert at Villa Park in Birmingham. It was the highest-grossing charity concert in history, raising funds for Birmingham Children’s Hospital, Acorn Children’s Hospice, and Cure Parkinson’s.
Below, a look back on Osbourne’s life in photos.
