NEED TO KNOW
Though Ozzy Osbourne continued to work, his health was in a fragile state for years before his death.
One day after the Black Sabbath frontman died on July 22 at age 76, a source tells PEOPLE that his health become a hurdle in his journey back to England with wife Sharon Osbourne.
“Sharon had wanted to move back to England for years, especially as she got older. England was always home for them, but it became more than that,” the source says. “It was about creating peace and the best life possible together in their final chapter. The path back to England wasn’t easy. His health has been fragile for years.”
The source adds that they moved to Buckinghamshire in 2023: “It was a gift, because they got a year and half together, at home.”
Indeed, “Ozzy’s final days were spent in England, surrounded by family, music and in the place he called home. He was in peace,” the source told PEOPLE.
Prior to his death, Osbourne was vocal about his health journey — particularly with Parkinson’s disease — over the years.
In 2019, Osbourne fell on his face and aggravated damage to his neck and back from an ATV accident 16 years before. He later underwent surgery — and the injury ultimately led to two more procedures.
Osbourne opened up about living with Parkinson’s disease for the first time in a conversation with Robin Roberts on Good Morning America in January 2020. At the time, he said that he was diagnosed in 2003 — but it wasn’t a “death sentence.”
“This last year has been hell for me. I’ve had surgery on my neck. I’ve announced to the world that I’ve got Parkinson’s. It’s been one rock ‘n’ roll year for me,” he said days later on CBS’s Grammy Red Carpet Live pre-show, which he walked with a cane. “I’m having physical therapy every day, five days a week. I’m trying, doing the best I can. Neck surgery’s not easy.”
In September 2022, Osbourne told PEOPLE that his health setbacks had “been a nightmare.”
“That’s the only thing that reminds me I’m getting older: things going wrong and not working anymore,” Osbourne said. “But I still feel young at heart.”
Daniel Knighton/Getty
At the time, he added: “I am determined to get back on stage even if I have to be nailed to a board and wheeled on. Survival is my legacy.”
Most recently, in February 2025, Osbourne shared on his SiriusXM radio show that he could no longer walk.
“I have made it to 2025. I can’t walk, but you know what I was thinking over the holidays? For all my complaining, I’m still alive,” he said at the time. “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,” he added.
On July 5, Osbourne played what would be his final concert with Black Sabbath in England, performing atop a throne, 17 days before his death.
“That show meant everything,” the source said. “It brought his career full circle.”
The rocker’s family announced that he had died on July 22 in a statement obtained by PEOPLE.
“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,” his statement read. “He was with his family and surrounded by love. We ask everyone to respect our family privacy at this time.”
