Sharon Osbourne: ‘I’ve spent a million on cosmetic surgery and too much on designer clothes’

Sharon Osbourne, 71, is a music manager, TV personality and author married to heavy metal rocker Ozzy. Here, she describes being a worker bee, buying an Andy Warhol and the eye-watering cost of cosmetic surgery.

How did your childhood influence your attitude to money?

I had no consciousness of money as I was growing up. We weren’t rich, not initially, at least, but I was happy. I had everything I wanted. We lived in Brixton; my parents worked in the music industry.

In 1964, we moved to Mayfair: my dad [Don Arden] wanted to demonstrate he was going up in the world. It was like going from Woolworths to Tiffany’s, with a credit card in your pocket and nothing to back it up.

What was your first job?

I was at Italia Conti stage school so I’d be sent out on modelling jobs. I remember having to model clothes for Marks & Spencer management before they were judged suitable for sale.

I think I got a few shillings a time for that. And I’d do little bits on TV – the Des O’Connor Show, for instance, where I’d dance or sing in a kids’ choir. Then I was in Babes in the Wood at the Palladium with Roy Castle and Sid James. I was a village girl and a sparrow.

How old were you when you started working for your father?

I was 16, but before I went into the office each day to stack shelves and help out on reception I’d work for a lady and get her son dressed and fed and take him to school.

Five days a week for which she paid me £15. I wanted extra money: I’ve always been a worker bee. I also got a job working in the bar of a small hotel in Earl’s Court.

I was brought up in a house with no alcohol. So, when someone asked for a Tom Collins or a Harvey Wallbanger, I’d no idea what they were talking about. I lasted a day.

Are you a saver or a spender?

I’ve never saved in my life. I get it and I spread it, in any direction. I love spending money on friends and family.

Have you ever invested in shares?

No, not interested. I’d never play the Stock Exchange; too much like gambling. And I’ve never been a gambler.

How about property?

At one time we had about six houses, in London and Los Angeles. Now, we have just two: one in Hancock Park [LA], the other in Buckinghamshire. We’re moving back from America to the UK in the new year. LA has become very jittery.

It’s not that much better here but Ozzy and I are British. It’s time to come home. The property market in California is rocky at the moment so I think we’ll end up renting out the LA house.

What has been your most lucrative undertaking?

Creating Ozzfest in 1996, which ran almost annually until 2018 and featured performances by many heavy metal and hard rock musical groups including Ozzy and his band, Black Sabbath.

Initially, it toured the United States and sometimes Europe and later Japan in front of between 30,000 and 60,000 people a night. Towards the end, tickets cost £76 a head although, in its final year, it was free, the tour underwritten by sponsors.But, in its time, it made a fortune.

What has been your worst financial decision?

Every day. Money just runs through my fingers. And I’m not going to change. I’m 71 now: it’s too late.

Have you put anything away for your retirement?

What’s “retirement”? I’ll never stop working one way and another. All I’ve ever done is work and spend. I’m on a wheel, always have been. When it comes to it, I want to be buried next to my husband in a beautiful mausoleum in the garden in Buckinghamshire. But it won’t be built until after I croak.

What’s your most pleasing acquisition?

A Warhol of the Queen. I bought a limited edition, there were only five, about 20 years ago. I got a great deal on it. It’s currently in LA. I’m not sure what to do with it. I might give it to one of the kids: I’ll put three names in a hat.

Sharon and her husband Ozzy plan to return to the UK in 2024 – DAVE HOGAN /GETTY IMAGES

What do you most regret buying?

All those designer clothes, oceans and oceans of them, from size 16 to size zero. At my heaviest, I weighed 16.5st. I’m now just over 7st.

Every time I lost weight, I’d empty my wardrobes of dresses, sweaters, shoes, underwear, coats and replace them with something in a smaller size.

And then slowly the weight would creep back on again. But I am blessed with two daughters, Aimee and Kelly, and they’ve taken some of my cast-offs down the years.

You’re well-known for your love of plastic surgery…

I’ve had a string of cosmetic procedures beginning with a browlift and facelift. I had liposuction on my neck and had it lifted, too. I had my breasts lifted, my arms lipo-ed and my tummy tucked.

I had my bum lifted and implants inserted. Then I had a facelift three-and-a-half years ago. I was left with one eye higher than the other. It took a year to put it all right.

Last December, I resorted to injecting myself once a week with Ozempic, a semaglutide that fools the brain into thinking the user’s not hungry. I lost 42lb – that’s 3st – in four months.

Now, I need to put on 10lb. I’ve had enough. I’ve given up on all interventions. Anyway, I couldn’t have much more facial surgery because there’s not that much skin left to stretch, pull, cut. And I won’t have any more fillers or Botox.

How much has all this cost?

Well, I haven’t kept a running total but it must top more than a million.

You’ve been around money all your life. What has it taught you?

I’m fascinated by what it does to people. There’s no doubt that it gives you power but not everyone deals with it in the same way. When I was growing up, you might aspire to being a millionaire. Now, it’s a billionaire. Of course, it can ruin your life if you don’t respect it. And it can be used in bad ways.

Look at that awful Jeffrey Epstein. His world revolved around drugs and prostitution and the exploitation of innocent young girls.

But it can be used for the good…

Absolutely. Look at someone like Elton John or Elizabeth Taylor who’ve used their wealth – and fame – to help others less fortunate than themselves. Their Aids foundations have raised millions in the fight against that disease.

Elizabeth was fabulous. I always used to think I was a bit like her: she loved a bit of bling.

How would you cope if you lost all your money overnight?

Quite well. My childhood was like that: fluctuating fortunes. I can always earn money, though. I have an ingrained work ethic and I’m pretty good at spotting good luck when it comes knocking. Look, I’m a survivor but then I’ve had to be.

It’s what I plan to talk about in my one-woman show.

Sharon Osbourne’s live show Cut The Crap! runs in London and Birmingham next month. For tickets: www.sharonosbournelive.co.uk

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