Tragic Details About Marie Osmond's Struggle With Body Image

This article contains discussion of eating disorders. 

It's no secret that young performers are under constant pressure to look their best and to maintain a perfect public image at all times. But while it's always been hard to be a teenager working in the entertainment industry, it had to be especially difficult before conversations regarding the ethics of it all really entered the public consciousness — never mind the constantly-changing definition of a "perfect female body" that many young women still feel pressured to abide by. One former child star who's spoken rather candidly about struggling with her own body image is country icon Marie Osmond.

Marie, who began hosting the variety show "Donny & Marie" with her older brother Donny Osmond when she was just 16 years old, peeled back the curtain on her tragic life story during a 2015 interview with Closer Weekly. The singer recounted one particularly traumatic incident where a group of the show's producers took her outside and berated her over her weight, despite the fact that she was only 103 pounds at the time. 

"[They told me] that I was obese, disgusting and a disgrace to my family. That I needed to keep food out of my fat face," Marie shockingly revealed. The producers even insinuated that her weight could get the show canned by the network, with Marie recalling, "This sent me on a head trip — that 250 people could lose their jobs because of me." Heartbreakingly, she ended up starving herself until she was around six pounds lighter as a result.

Marie Osmond opened up further about her struggles with body image during a 2023 interview with Page Six, including revisiting the verbal abuse she suffered at the hands of those TV producers. However, the country star also acknowledged that she may have been lowballing when she mentioned dropping six pounds to Closer Weekly eight years prior. The number was actually closer to 11 pounds, meaning that she weighed less than 100 pounds after all the intense dieting. Additionally, Marie shared the moment when she realized it had become a big problem. 

"I was in the dressing room [...] and there was a girl in there changing who was just an emaciated skeleton with skin on her. And I just thought, 'Oh my gosh, that's so sick,' and I stood up and realized that girl was me," she disclosed. "And it was just one of those big 'AHA' [moments], that 'Oh, body dysmorphia is a real thing.'"

But while it was largely caused by others, the singer did have to learn to forgive herself for all the damage she did — something Marie was only able to do after years of hard work. "It's really important to make peace [...] and to apologize for all the abuse," she told Yahoo! in 2024, confessing, "There was a time where I literally wept for how I treated me."

If you need help with an eating disorder, or know someone who does, help is available. Visit the National Eating Disorders Association website or contact NEDA's Live Helpline at 1-800-931-2237. You can also receive 24/7 Crisis Support via text (send NEDA to 741-741).