Cancer surgery for Ozzy's wife
2002-07-03 11:48
Los Angeles - Sharon Osbourne, the wife and manager of rock star-turned-reality TV hero Ozzy Osbourne, has been diagnosed with a treatable form of cancer and will undergo surgery on Wednesday, the couple's publicist says.
A statement issued on Tuesday said she was expected to make a full recovery. The type of cancer was not specified, and a spokesperson was not immediately available.
"She has the loving support of her husband and three children who are by her side at this time," the statement said.
Along with her family, the matronly Osbourne has become a pop culture sensation in recent months thanks to the smash MTV reality series The Osbournes, massive media coverage, and an avalanche of merchandising deals.
The show follows the daily exploits of the foul-mouthed but loving clan: befuddled Ozzy, plain-spoken Sharon, and two of their children, rambunctious teenagers Jack and Kelly. Eldest child Aimee did not participate in the show's first season.
Sharon Osbourne, the estranged daughter of veteran English showbiz promoter Don Arden, is credited with reviving her husband's career after he was fired from heavy metal pioneers Black Sabbath in 1979. They were married in Maui in 1982. The union has been a seemingly happy one apart from a 1989 brawl where a drunken Ozzy tried to strangle Sharon and subsequently spent three months in rehab.
In addition to managing her husband, the so-called "Prince of Darkness", Sharon Osbourne oversees the hugely successful annual Ozzfest rock festival.
Osbourne, who once matched her husband's drink-and-drugs excess, underwent a gastric bypass operation and lost 41 kg. She had reportedly weighed as much as 102 kg.