Back in the good old days, Donny Osmond was definitely a favorite of mine. One of my most liked songs of his from the early 70’s was “Sweet and Innocent.” This was also a time where the words of a song really had meaning, and it was always a pleasure to hear Donny.
It’s hard to find any teenage girl from that era that didn’t have a crush on the handsome and talented singer – a lot of my friends got his records and had their walls papered with pictures of young Donny.
Today, he still sounds good and he still looks as awesome as ever.
But Donny Osmond isn’t only a well-known and praised singer – he’s also one of the most famous Mormons in the entertainment industry.
His religious views and statements have attracted a great deal of attention over the years – and there have not always been positive tones surrounding his opinions. For example, Donny Osmond’s controversial confession about gay marriage has stirred up emotions.
Many of his fans thought his view were outdated and Donny received a lot of criticism for his way of talking about same-sex marriage.
And when Donny Osmond revealed what he regrets most in life, many raised their eyebrows again…
Donny Osmond was born in 1957 in Ogden, Utah, as the seventh son in a family of eight. Along with all his siblings, he was raised a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which is informally known as the Mormon Church.
George Osmond was the leader of the family and the patriarch who would have a big influence on the young Donny. It was, for example, George who took the initiative to form a music group within the family.
Four of Donny’s older brothers – Alan, Wayne, Merrill, and Jay – formed a quartet called The Osmonds. When Donny joined the group, the group came to be known as the Osmond Brothers. Already as a 5-year-old, Donny began to perform on stage with his brothers. The little boy was so cute and had such charisma that he became the band’s frontman.
“I went from an innocent child to a national television star,” Donny told Daily Mail in 2007.
Donny became a huge teen idol who toured all over the world with his brothers. He lived a rock ‘n roll life – apart from all the decadence we usually associate with rock stars. Since Donny was a Mormon, the young boy insisted on not having sex before marriage – drinking alcohol or doing drugs was totally forbidden.
According to some sources, Donny didn’t even swear.
Unfortunately, the hectic tour life became too much for the young boy. He became homesick after a while and wished he had stayed at home in Utah.
“I was nine years old and on a six-week tour of Sweden with my father, playing three shows a day. I was so homesick. I wrote a letter to my mother, begging her to come and get me,” Donny said.
Donny started to hate the fame but his dad constantly pushed him to continue performing in front of packed stands. And his dad didn’t like that Donny wanted to get married at the age of 20.
He believed that the marriage would ruin his son’s career.
But Donny had found the love of his life in Debbie Glenn, also a Mormon.
“She was the hot babe cheerleader in town and she dated my brother Jay [Osmond] before she dated me,” the star once confessed while describing their relationship in a Facebook post from May 2016.
“It took me 3 whole years to win her heart and convince her to marry me.”
The couple tied the knot in 1978, at the Salt Lake Temple in Utah.
“When I told my dad, he said, ‘Well, there goes your career, but this is ushering in your personal life,’” Donny told The Guardian in 2017.
Together, Donny and Debbie had five sons: Joshua, Jeremy, Donald, Christopher, and Brandon.
All were raised to be Mormons – just like mom and dad.
“The LDS religion believes in a strong family – a strong unit – and teaching and raising your children properly.” Donny said that the church had a “program that really solidifies the family together and that is ‘family night,’” Donny and Debbie told the Los Angeles Times in 1989.
Over the years, Donny has repeatedly emphasized the importance of Mormonism as he and Debbie raised their boys.
“Mormonism plays a vital role in raising our children because we teach them the love of God and the reason we’re here on this earth: to perfect our lives and hopefully someday, we believe, to return to our heavenly Father. I think that what’s nice about that is that it really puts life itself into a good perspective. You understand what you’re really here for and what your goals are,” Donny explained.
In May 2020, Donny and Debbie celebrated 42 years of marriage and Donny wrote special tribute hos his beloved wife.