Black Sabbath lead singer Ozzy Osbourne, who was diagnosed with Parkinson’s in 2019, has died at the age of 76.
His family shared the following statement announcing his death in the evening of 22 July 2025:
“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. He was with his family and surrounded by love. We ask everyone to respect our family privacy at this time.”
Find out more: what are the signs and symptoms of Parkinson’s?
Ozzy Osbourne was born in Birmingham, United Kingdom, and became a musical icon in the 1970s after he rose to fame as the lead singer for Black Sabbath, a pioneering heavy metal band whose hits included Paranoid and War Pigs.
During his years in Black Sabbath, he became known by the nickname “Prince of Darkness”, and in one of his most infamous moments he mistakenly bit the head off a bat during a live show. On leaving the band in 1979 he went on to have a successful solo career, with his biggest hit generally considered to be Crazy Train.
Later in life, he gained a new audience of fans when he starred in the reality TV series The Osbournes alongside his family, including wife Sharon Osbourne and children Kelly and Jack.
When was Ozzy Osbourne diagnosed with Parkinson’s?
In 2019, Ozzy Osbourne was diagnosed with Parkinson’s after experiencing a bad fall that require spinal surgery, announcing his diagnosis of a “mild form” of Parkinson’s in 2020.
At the time, his wife Sharon Osbourne described how Parkinson’s was affecting his life:
“It’s not a death sentence by any stretch of the imagination, but it affects certain nerves in your body. You have a good day, a good day, then a really bad day.”
While announcing his diagnosis, Ozzy expressed gratitude to his fans:
“They’re my air, you know. I feel better. I’ve owned up to the fact that I have … a case of Parkinson’s. And I just hope they hang on and they’re there for me because I need them.”
His diagnosis was met with widespread support and admiration across social media.
Ozzy Osbourne continued to speak out about his life with Parkinson’s throughout his final years, including discussing taking up Tai Chi to help with his symptoms during an episode of his family’s podcast, The Osbournes Podcast, in 2023.
His Parkinson’s symptoms worsened in recent years. He announced in February 2025 that he was now struggling to walk, but he maintained a positive outlook on life:
“For all my complaining, I’m still alive. I may be moaning that I can’t walk but I look down the road and there’s people that didn’t do half as much as me and didn’t make it.”
Black Sabbath farewell gig
Earlier this month, on 5 July, Ozzy took part in a memorable farewell gig in his native Birmingham. It was his first time performing with Black Sabbath in 20 years.
This performance, was viewed by 40,000 fans live in the stadium and almost 6 million people online. It raised over £140 million for charity, including The Cure Parkinson’s Trust.
During this final performance, Ozzy remained seated, but it didn’t dampen his performance.
“It’s so good to be on this stage. You have no idea,” he told the crowd, who responded by chanting his name.
Speaking about the gig, Cure Parkinson’s Director of Fundraising and Marketing, Andy Simons told BBC Radio WM: “It’s a very exciting thing for us to be involved in, and we’re so grateful.”
Addressing Ozzy directly he added: “This is making an enormous difference, it already has, because you mentioning us in your publicity has enabled us as a charity to reach more people with Parkinson’s around the country than we had before. All hail the prince of darkness!”
Parkinson’s Europe send our deepest condolences to the Osbourne family at this sad time.
