Sharon Osbourne Extreme: My Autobiography

by Sharon Osbourne

As the daughter of notorious rock manager Don Arden, Sharon Osbourne's childhood was an unruly mix of glamour and violence. In her late 20s, Sharon finally made the painful decision to break with her family. Always irrepressible, Sharon flourished, creating a loving family of her own while becoming a legendary manager and rockband promoter. In rock star Ozzy Osbourne, Sharon found her soul mate, yet Ozzy's drug and drink-fuelled excesses, which culminated in his attempt to strangle her, made their marriage a white-knuckle ride from the start; only her devotion to their three children gave her the will to survive. From the tremendous highs of the hit show The Osbournes to the lows of Ozzy's near-fatal quad-bike accident and her own bout with colon cancer, Sharon's tenacity, honesty, and humour have triumphed again and again.

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction, Autobiography, Music, Memoir, Biography Memoir, Audiobook

372 pages, Paperback

First published October 3, 2005

About the author

Sharon Rachel Osbourne (née Levy, previously Arden) is an English music manager and promoter, television personality and presenter.

She came into public prominence after appearing in The Osbournes, a reality television show that followed her family's daily life. Osbourne later became a judge on the talent shows The X Factor and America's Got Talent. Her autobiography, Extreme, has sold in excess of two million copies.

After the success of The Osbournes, hosting her own chat shows and securing advertising contracts, Osbourne was ranked as the 60th richest woman in Britain on the 2007 Sunday Times Rich List. Sharon and husband, Ozzy Osbourne, are currently ranked as the 724th richest people in Britain with an estimated joint wealth of £110 million. Sharon Osbourne previously revived Ozzy's metal career and she stands as the founder of Ozzfest.

Reviews

[Howard · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 Stars for Sharon Osbourne Extreme: My Autobiography (audiobook) by Sharon Osbourne read by the author.
This is a relatively short book but there’s a lot of great stories in it. Sharon Osbourne is an amazing woman. I knew that living with Ozzy was hard but really had no idea what she has been through and she has managed to keep her family together. I’m really glad she wrote this book. It’s helped fill in some of the details I’ve missed along the way.

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm not a fan of massive biographies however I wanted to love this so much as I am a Sharon fan, she has such an awesome personality and comes acro0ss as really fun, but I couldn't really get into this book, I think it's a case of its me rather than the book though.

I'm not here to rate anyone's life so its a 5 star from me.

[Sherry · Rating 5 out of 5]

The title of this autobiography tells it all "Extreme". If you want to go on a wild ride then this is the book for you. Prepare yourself for some bizarre escapades and foul language and you won't be able to put this book down. Hard to believe anyone could survive a life such as this.

[Leo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such an interesting woman and life overall. have issues with what to write as a review or star rating. It's feel odd review someone else's life so I'll just keep it as it is. Of your interested in her life up to 2005 I would recommend this. Not sure if she's writing something newer

[Sam · Rating 2 out of 5]

I must admit I expected a lot more from Sharon Osbourne, being the strong opionated woman that she is. Instead I discovered a woman very much dependant and dictated to by those around her, particularly her father (who was not a nice chap to put it nicely) then by her partners and husband. I was shocked to discover that the woman we know today did not come out until she was nearly killed by the man she had married and to whom she stood by despite his abusive nature. Putting that aside I was also surprised by how little Sharon actually gave of herself to the book, keeping it focused on the acts she grew up around, toured with, managed etc rather than looking into the more personal aspects of her life, such as her personal relationship with her parents (rather than the business one) and how this impacted her decisions in later life. It was not until she has been diagnosed with colon cancer and Ozzy has calmed down dramatically that I began to feel that it was the real Sharon talking rather than a show-biz drama queen. This is an interesting book , particularly if celebrity is your thing but don't expect heart-felt explorations into her past or details of her as a person rather than as a music agent/manager.

[Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent. I read A LOT of bios- especially rock and celebrity... but I never read one that I connected with so personally, or was so sad to finish. I just want to have coffee with Sharon every morning.... in another life, perhaps.

Painfully honest about her struggle as the wife of an addict. I am the wife of an alcoholic, and I have read a lot of books about addiction and/or addicts. But none other has touched my heart so deeply. If you love an addict- spouse, child, friend, etc- and have found other accounts to not exactly portray your pov, try this one.

I am a similar smart-ass, no-back-down personality to Sharon, I think. But I often feel others think my commitment to my husband is viewed as a weakness. Like, if I was so tough, I would "just leave".... this aspect of living with an addict is a central theme of Sharon's book. So also is the guilt brought on by considering cutting lose someone who has a real disease, when all of your own success was built on their back.

But, dont get me wrong-- this is NOT a whiny wallowing version of being an addicts wife. It is an account of owning your part, and remaining faithful, while maintaining to the end a position of fighting for an addict until they are either in remission or gone. I may some day see my husband finish himself off... but it wont be without me fighting him every step of the way...

It was also a story of hope, in that- at the time of it's finish- Ozzy was 2 years clean, and her son 3 years. Sharon's story reinforced my belief that my way may not be the AlAnon way, but it is MY journey... not conducive to the choices of others, but not "wrong" either.

[Bethany · Rating 1 out of 5]

Sharon Osbourne, wife of Ozzy Osbourne of Black Sabbath & bat-eating fame, mother of three, and former talk show host, has a fascinating life to an outsider. That being said, it’s not very fun to read about. Extreme: My Autobiography is chock-full of people who abuse substances, are abusive, and are abused. And most of the people found herein do all three to an extent that I couldn’t find a reason for reading about them.

I had high hopes for Osbourne’s book, because I think she is a very likable, strong woman who has accomplished many things. I was disappointed.

[Ellen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've needed a little bit of Sharon Osbourne in my life! This book really taught me that despite set backs (and Shaz had some major setbacks...is setbacks even the right word for what happened to her?!) it's possible to be a huge success. I'm in awe of someone who clearly has it all: loving husband, amazing career, doting children, and sweet puppies. It was fun to read this after reading Ozzy's autobiography and "compare" notes. A survivor story in more ways than one. HIGHLY recommended.

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

this review first appeared on [http://intraspace.blogspot.com]

anna got this from her book club, i think. i came across it when i was looking for something a bit lighter to read...

i suppose it's a bit of a "girl's book", but it's also a rather interesting insight on the music industry of the 50s, 60s, 70s and 80s.

sharon osbourne is famous to most people for being the wife of ozzy osbourne, former lead singer of black sabbath. but apart from this significant accomplishment, she was also on the inner circle of the british music industry.

her father was an artist manager, and was responsible for bringing rock n roll to britain. he turned down management of a new band called "the beatles" because he thought the idea of british rock was a joke. instead he continued to focus on bringing american acts like chuck berry over to the uk. other famous artists he represented included ELO in the 70s (by then he had caught on to the idea of british music).

sharon became involved in the industry, and much of this book is about the corruption and criminal under-current of the music business. nothing girly about that! sharon herself was (is) a bit of a hard woman - not afraid (it transpires) to use her excrement (literally), her language and her fists to prove a point. before i leave off talking about the music industry bits of the book, i should also say - did you know that sharon once managed the smashing pumpkins? she ditched them because billy corgan was a royal pain in the arse.

the rest of the book is about her relationship with ozzy - enduring weekly beatings and his insane drug and alcohol addiction. she also talks about her kids and her fight with cancer.

so lots of aspects to this book - well worth reading for either the music industry stuff or for the human drama.

[Anna Perho · Rating 2 out of 5]

Everyone talks about Mrs. Osbourne as a hero but after reading this book I see her as a victim of serious abuse who is incapable to break the abusive circle she has forced herself and her kids to live in. She is a sad example of a woman who keeps staying together with a man who abuses her physically and mentally and tries even to murder her. I don´t see anything heroic in that and definitely wouldn´t count her as a role model. She is an incredible talented and smart woman, so why does she spend her entire life of being a co-dependant for a violent drug user?

Also, the style of the book was quite shallow. Osbourne gets by huge happenings in her life in 1-2 sentences. That might of course be because her life is so full of dramatic turns that they wouldn´t fit in abook though it had 5000 pages.

If you´re interested to know how functional the Osbourne family truly is I´d recommend a documentary God Bless Ozzy Osbourne,co-produced by Jack Osbourne.

[Levi Jenkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

I will be honest and admitt the only reason I ended up reading this book, was because I was on holiday and read all my books before it was time to go (truely hate it when that happens) so I tried one of my friends ... well I can say I asctually loooved it! .. I had no idea the live Sharon Osbourne lead prior/during her earlier life with hubby Ozzy!
It's a truely remarkable story, one at times seems fictional, but definatly a good read, to look into the life of others and find just how different people's lives are. I think one of the reasons I liked the book so much was due to the amount of honesty layed out on the pages; it makes you feel a certain way when you read it ..
All I can say is for me it was a good read,(I don't no maybe it was the extreme heat-but I enjoyed it)
I wont spoil anything for anyone wondering about the events that occure inside the book; all I will say is there has been a lot of drama in Sharon Osbourne's life.

[Sharon Louise · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm afraid I've never had any respect for Ozzy Osbourne due to the infamous bat and dove incidents, so it's with a great deal of surprise that I have to admit I really enjoyed this book. (Same as I actually enjoyed "The Osbourne's" despite not wanting to...)

But I don't know why exactly? After all it's filled with alcoholism, drug addiction, abusive men and above all a very abusive main relationship between Ozzy and Sharon. It's hard for me to see how they have risen above that to have the relationship they seemingly have now. I think I would find it near impossible to love someone who constantly cheated on me, punched and hit me, broke my teeth and of course tried to strangle me to death! Maybe it works because they are as bad as each other!

Still I did enjoy it, found it a book I couldn't put down and ended up giving a 4 star rating to...go figure....

[Sarah Matthews · Rating 3 out of 5]

If I had a $1 for everytime Sharon took a shit in something other than a toilet, well I’d only have about 5 bucks but that’s more excrement than anyone should ever include in their life story. Super interesting read, especially about Sharon’s life before Ozzy, but unsure if Sharon comes out a hero or a super vile old lady who glorifies a wildly abusive marriage.

[Kellie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have always thought Sharon Osbourne was an interesting person. Now, after reading her book, it is confirmed. She is an amazing person. Her life was nothing short of an adventure. Her father was a manager in the music industry out of the UK. He was not the ideal father. He was a scammer, a cheat, a mobster and he used Sharon so he could run his crooked business under the radar. Her mother was not any better. Even though her husband cheated on her and treated her worse than a 2-bit whore, she defended him over Sharon several times throughout her life. I didn’t realize how experienced Sharon is in the music business. She meets Ozzy when she was in her early 20’s. They become great friends. They become romantically involved when he is still married. It’s a rocky road, but Ozzy does eventually divorce his wife and marry Sharon. Sharon talks a lot about Ozzy’s addictions and the violence that ensues. She is very open and honest in her writing. I admire her for that. A few things that stand out in my mind after reading this book. Sharon and her family must have lived in 50 different. I swear they are moving to a new house in every chapter. They bounce between LA and England. Sharon gets robbed. Not just once but SEVERAL times. You would think they would learn and get an alarm system or safes or something. Sharon has spunk and seems like a fun person to be around. I enjoyed this book and I’m glad I read it

[Tree · Rating 2 out of 5]

I like baudy women like Sharon Osbourne, but it was a huge bummer reading about Ozzy constantly cheating on and beating her. I'm glad their relationship "stabelized" and that they've stayed together so long (well, kind of), but it was a laborious read.

And I got tired of her sending boxes of excrement to people. Once, maybe in an extreme situation, but it's the sort of trick that gets hackneyed quick.

[alison morton · Rating 2 out of 5]

Oh dear. I really liked Sharon before I read this. But.....they really need to take some personal responsibility! Aggressive, rude, violent, unprofessional and far far too full of her own self importance and whats with all the pissing herself? TMI ! and as for deliberately shitting in peoples shoes and on ornaments and getting her kids to shit on letters in their potty???? REALLYYY?????? Very disappointed.

[Ann · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was forced to read this book while traveling! There was nothing else available and I would have been stuck on a plane with nothing but a couple magazines for several hours! I expected to hate it. But the truth is that I read the entire thing and learned more than I ever wanted to know about Ozzy and Sharon. The writing was bad, but at least it passed the time.

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Before reading this book I thought their reputations had to be exaggerated. They aren't. Sharon and Ozzy are two crazy people. I didn't know about Sharon's family background in the industry, and that was interesting, but, man, everyone in their lives is so dysfunctional. The drama is intriguing, but exhausting.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I always wondered how she could be married to Ozzy, she always seemed like the stable one. Boy, she's was raised with a dysfunctional family. I really have much respect for Sharon and how hard she worked to make Ozzy's career what it was. In a lot of ways her back ground reminds me of my own mother. I love her honesty. You can tell how much she loves her kids and Ozzy.

[Diane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow-a wild and crazy ride through a wild and crazy life. From birth to 50...father Don Arden, a rock promoter, mother a self-absorbed cold fish, meeting Ozzy, life with Ozzy: O.M.G.!!!!!, kids born, dozens of houses, tours, cancer. She's a mama grizzly! He's been a test (slight understatement)--drugs, booze, eccentric. A great read!

[Tracy Goble · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love a memoir and especially love listening to them on walks or runs. G and I started watching the Osbournes show—basically watching it for the first time although both of us watched a handful of episodes as kids. They are hilarious and I had to dive deeper into the osbourne lore. RIP Ozzy!

[Sharon · Rating 1 out of 5]

This one i just couldn't get into at all infact it bored me senseless so gave up after the first two chapters.

[Shannon Mclaughlin · Rating 1 out of 5]

I felt like it was complete bullshit.

[Shirley Revill · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very interesting story that I really enjoyed. Recommended.

[Jonas Paro · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jaha, det var visst inte Ozzy som var den tokiga i det där förhållandet. Eller, kaka söker maka kanske. Det här livsödet är en rejäl berg- och dalbana och berättelsen om en människa som gått igenom mer än de flesta. Pappan, skivbolagsmogulen Don Arden, var ett av de större asen i branschen (skivbolags- och pappa-) och att vara ihop med Ozzy i 25 år ungefär (när boken skrevs) är väl vad man milt sagt kan säga en utmaning.

Ingen tvekan att Sharon och Ozzy älskar varandra men det är på samma gång ett väldigt destruktivt och trasigt förhållande.

Underhållande storys finns såklart (inte sällan med inslag av exkrementer) men det är ändå lite svårt att skratta åt dem då allt annat i läsningen känns så mörkt.

Oavsett vad man personligen tycker om Sharon Osbourne så är denna bok one hell of a ride.

[Mark Farley · Rating 2 out of 5]

“Memory is a strange thing, and since starting this book I have discovered that people’s memories of the same event can be very, very different.”

Tell me about it, Sharon. In fact, it’s something I am increasingly finding in these ghost-written celeb tomes. That, in some way, the celebrities are forced to put their own side of versions, albeit ghostwritten (in this case by Penelope Dening, who surprisingly gets a mention on the title page with her subject), to somehow justify where they feel their actions and their character have been scrutinised in the past.

None more it seems has this been the case, it seems, but with Sharon Osbourne. TV Star, Mother, Wife to Rock God and a large number of shit excreting small dogs.

It should go on record that despite what I might say, the book became the biggest selling British autobiography ever upon release and the most successful female biography upon release when it topped 2 million sales (621,000 of that was in hardback), which is a huge acheivement for the wife of a rock star, currently fading in terms of the chart success he has had in the past. Granted, the very fact that Sharon was not only a judge in possibly one of the most successful shows on TV currently, but the promotional budget behind this title and the avenues of opportunity already out there in terms of her exposure could have done nothing but aid her in this milestone display of selling.

Now, let it be said that I firmly believe that not only is Ozzy and Black Sabbath one of the most underrated acts in British music but that Ozzy himself is one of the least talked about successes in terms of that all important industry white elephant, “Cracking America”, with his hugely successful solo career (something unheard of at the time) and what then eventually Ozzfest, a no-nonsense hard rock alternative to the more avant-garde Lollapalooza at the time.

But back to Sharon. Mrs. Osbourne (nee Arden) is the daughter of the legendary concert promoter, Don Arden and the relationship between her and her father, not to mention a quite unique and turbulent business partnership, despite her young age. Sharon is nothing but adamant about how she was manipulated as early as in her teens to basically sign her life away on behalf of her father in her business dealings.
This has made her not only quite hard and surly but also majorly beligerent and callous towards anyone she takes a disliking to.
She has learnt over the years to fight her corner and had her Fuck You, punk spririt firmly established and instilled within her a number of years before the Pistols first rose up from their squats and tread the boards.

As early as the Sixties, she was making the sort of important industry decisions that people have spent years in the process of making their way upto in these days. Sharon puts this down to a question of experience and woe be tide any cocky shits in the industry today that try to cross or fuck with her.

I, on the other hand, clearly believe that Sharon has got to where she is today through what was essentially a life of priviledge through her father, despite her protestations at the amount of work she has done to add to his legend. The constant naievity of the younger business woman, even well into her thirties is very frustrating and annoying, especially how it has affected her family and her relationship with her husband. A man with his own personal demons and struggles with addiction.

In her defence though, she is an absolute rock for Ozzy. As is he for her. Through his rehabilitation and her own battles with colon cancer. The couple have the most passionate and clearly loving relationship that most I’m sure are envious of, that is evident to anyone who even watches an episode of that other surprise success in their lives, their famous MTV reality show, which has made huge stars of Sharon and both children in the programme, Kelly and Jack. It is true that Kelly has not been as successful as first thought, but then why on earth any member of that family would want to follow such an icon as her father into music, I do not know.

What I love about Sharon is her attitude and that she doesn’t give a flying fuck. This is admirable and useful no doubt for the business that she is in, but her constant violent and rude nature has damaged her reputation in the public eye. She has been widly criticized for her actions and behaviour as a judge on all seasons of The X Factor, even though I do agree about the guy that won the first season. But then I think everyone realised that you would not have heard of him after the show came to an end. But then The X-Factor has failed to produce anything of either the success or standard as Simon Cowell’s other baby, American Idol.

To my dismay, this book was majorly lacking in any ending. To say it was half arsed, would be fair. I really slacked towards the end, despite what I thought would be a great read for me, considering who Sharon is. But I really got a bit sick of Sharon’s constant self-justification and volitile nature. This made it hard for me to actually get to the end of what seems to be a very jumbled and patchy account of events towards the end.

It it a very aggressive tome. There is a history of violence and abuse from both sides of the relationship and as heartbreaking as it is, there are interjections of wit and humour along the way. It is quite hard reading though in terms of the arguementative tone of most of the book.

I wonder how those two million buyers felt at the end.

[Sarah Jean (Albers) Elsea · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sharon is such a funny woman! Before I could really appreciate Ozzy’s music I was actually a Sharon fan first from watching the “Osbourne show” as a younger girl and found her to be such a fun, unhinged but loving woman who is a survivor in many instances . Her story isn’t all about fun though as she lived through many hardships in her youth and her adult years and then the roller coaster relationship with Ozzy during hers and his addictions . This books makes you really remember that Sharon and other celebrities are only human and money doesn’t always fix everything but she sure loves and fights like a powerful woman.

[Ben Swanson · Rating 1 out of 5]

Had to read as a part of our trashy book club. She’s lived a life, I’ll give her that.

[Amy Curran · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hilarious and heartbreaking. Even better now that my copy has been signed by Mrs O

[JxxxL · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you feel like being down and out, read this book.