9 Quick Questions for Marie Osmond

Speaking of dolls, Mattel created your celebrity Barbie doll back in 1976. Have you seen the recent Barbie movie?

I have not. Although Barbie and I are the same age, and she’s aging much better than me, and it ticks me off!

Well maybe you can see it with one of your nine grandkids. How are you enjoying being a grandmother?

It’s the best ever. It’s like you get [your kids] back. They have little features that remind you [of your kids] and their personalities are fabulous. And when you get tired, you go, “Goodnight!” I’ve always been very family oriented, but I had to work. I was the breadwinner for my kids. I would be off doing shows in the evenings. So it’s fun to be able to help them with theirs. I’m enjoying myself so much.

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Have you made adjustments to stay healthy as you’ve aged?

I struggle with health things like everyone else, but I was raised by the most positive mother and father — but mostly my mother. I didn’t have friends on the road. She was my companion, and just was the most positive human being on the planet [and was always saying], “I believe in you. Take care of yourself.” I lost 50 pounds, and that has been the biggest gift I’ve given myself. My mother told me on her deathbed: “Do not do what I did to my body. You get the weight off. Get healthy.” I look at the last 20 years of my life and see — it’s been about 17 since I’ve lost [the weight] — and I know that I have a different life because I chose to do that, and avoided health issues that I know I would have had.

You’ve spoken openly about your mental health challenges. What made you decide to share your experiences?

I went through severe postpartum depression, and I saw all these women suffering in silence like this — so ashamed. And my mom said to me: “I’m gonna tell you something I’ve never told anyone.” It just resonated so deeply with me. Why are we not sharing?  When I did my book signing 20-some years ago — when I came out with that book, [Behind the Smile: My Journey out of Postpartum Depression], which was immediately a New York Times bestseller — I signed books until Barnes & Noble closed. I’ll never forget this one couple that came up. They were about my age now, and they said, “We wish you would have written this a year ago. We might still have our daughter.”

What advice would you give to somebody who’s struggling with a mental health challenge?

Please get help. And if it’s too much effort for you to even get to a doctor — which it might be — tell somebody who can help you get there. And dig. For me, I dug into my past, and there were lots of things. I went through abuse as a child and never told anybody, especially not my family. Those things come up and bite you. You have to do the work and figure out what it is. I’ve always said to my children, and I write about it in my Sunday messages: Do not let the past create your weather. You own your life. Forgiveness is one of the most important elements, because by forgiving, they don’t own you anymore. It’s their problem.

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What’s some of the best advice you’ve been given?

I’ve learned from so many people. I learned to cheat at Scrabble from Lucille Ball. I learned how to drink water and guzzle it from Betty White. I would say my mom gave me the best advice: to choose happiness. To make [it] a choice. … I don’t have all the answers, but I do believe [in] getting rid of those weights that bind you down, people that destroy your self-worth. You just own your life. We have one life. When you stay positive, you will receive the blessings and the joy if you surround yourself with light instead of negativity.