The Osmond Siblings Are Mourning the Loss of Their Brother, Wayne, Who Was 73
Wayne Osmond was the first Osmond sibling to die.
Published Jan. 3 2025, 10:40 a.m. ET
Following the news that Wayne Osmond, one of the members of The Osmond music group, had died at the age of 73, there was an outpouring of love from the rest of the family, and from those who remembered the band's initial success. The news of Wayne's death also left many wanting to learn more about the state of the Osmond siblings today.
Like Wayne, the rest of the siblings are in various stages of old age. Decades after the peak of their success, here's what we know about where each of them are today.
Where are the Osmond siblings now?
Most of the Osmond siblings are in some stage of retirement, although several of them continued to tour with various iterations of The Osmonds until 2023. Wayne was the first member of the sibling family to die.
There were nine Osmond siblings: Virl, Tom, Alan, Wayne, Merrill, Jay, Donny, Marie, and Jimmy. Virl and Tom were both born with severe hearing impairments and are also the two eldest siblings. All seven children who followed were born with full hearing.
Virl is now 79 years old, and Tom is 77. Alan is now 75 and was the first sibling to start what would become The Osmonds. He began performing in a barbershop quartet with his brothers when he was just 12 years old. Wayne was born next and became crucial to the group as a lyricist, vocalist, and multi-instrumentalist. Merrill, who is 71 and is now retired, was the band's primary vocalist. Merrill also had a solo career.
Jay is now 69 and worked in the band but also penned the 2022 book The Osmonds about his family story. Donny Osmond is 67 and is by far the most professionally successful member of the group. He went on to become a successful singer, actor, and TV personality for decades.
Marie Osmond is the only girl in the family and also had a successful career as a singer and TV personality, even though she wasn't a full member of the band.
Jimmy Osmond is the baby of the family and had a solo career that included several gold albums. Even Donny and Marie are no longer as famous as they once were, and the Osmonds more generally have lost some of the luster they had when they were regularly producing hits. Their songs are among the least recirculated from that era, which means that many modern audiences, even those who appreciate music from the '70s, don't know their songs.
The family has reacted to Wayne's death.
The news of Wayne's death naturally shook the rest of the family deeply.
"My brother was a saint before he came into this world, and he will leave as an even greater saint than he came in. I've never known a man that had more humility. A man with absolute(ly) no guile. An individual that was quick to forgive and had the ability to show unconditional love to everyone he ever met," Merrill wrote on Facebook.