Candidates
Sharon Osbourne
"I don't play well with other women, and I can be the nastiest bitch in the world."
She's brought new meaning to the phrase "housewife superstar" for the 21st century, but that phrase is only a foreword to the book of Sharon Osbourne's life.
Osbourne's autobiography, released in September 2005, was the voice of one of the most resilient and multi-faceted figureheads in the public consciousness and also went on to sell over two million copies in the UK alone.
The Sharon Osbourne the world now knows is the one made famous by TV, but it's also the sum of many other parts, parts that were constructed on the shop floor of a music business that was in her very blood.
She was 15 when she began her career as a receptionist for her father Don Arden's management company. It was while working for her father that she first met seminal rockers Black Sabbath and a lead singer called John Michael Osbourne, already known to one and all as Ozzy. She was 17 then, and their paths crossed off and on over the ensuing years, until she began managing Ozzy's career in 1979, after he'd been fired from Black Sabbath. Sharon and Ozzy were married on July 4, 1982. The tour bus was often a nursery for their three children, Aimee, Kelly and Jack. She always believed in Ozzy's talent and over the next quarter century, would mold and mastermind the truly unique solo career of a rock icon. In 1996 she created Ozzfest, which celebrated its 13th anniversary this summer.
She's as proud of her work ethic now as when she formed her own international company, Sharon Osbourne Management, created two record labels, became a concert tour producer, film producer, five-days-a-week talk show host and started a charity, all at the same time as nurturing her family.
And then, "The Osbournes." The concept of a reality TV series about her family was her idea, but it was the viewing public who spontaneously created the reaction that turned the series into a pivotal moment in modern television history. Starring Ozzy, Sharon, Kelly and Jack, it won MTV the highest ratings they'd ever known and won an Emmy for Best Reality Show at the 2002 Emmy Awards ceremony in Los Angeles. Suddenly, viewers who may never have heard of Sharon Osbourne before had a new friend and inspiration.
Then came the most serious of pit stops. When she was diagnosed with colon cancer in July 2002, she spent the rest of the year coming to grips with her own mortality, ravaged by chemotherapy and the attendant sickness. Her brave move to let the MTV cameras document her illness during the filming of the second season of "The Osbournes" was all about seizing the chance to promote public awareness of the disease. Fully recovered, she started the "Sharon Osbourne Colon Cancer Program" with the mission of providing free screenings and healthcare to those who can't afford it. She has also lent her support of other charities as well including the "Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation" (on which she is an honorary board member),
