How Kelly Osbourne Achieved a Net Worth of $20 Million
Kelly Osbourne is Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne’s middle child. However, even after being born to a celebrity family, Osbourne was not ready to settle for being known as “Ozzy’s daughter.” She has gone ahead to carve a career in the entertainment industry as a TV personality, musician, and even model. Her efforts have yielded fruits, and today, Kelly Osbourne’s net worth is a staggering $20 million, the highest among her siblings. So, what exactly has she been up to make her this wealthy? Here is how she grew her net worth.
Television Debut in “The Osbournes”
According to The New York Times, the Osbourne family agreed to a new contract that would extend “The Osbournes” reality television show by 20 episodes. The first season had aired on March 5, 2002, on MTV, and the show quickly became a success, earning the network huge ratings. The eighth episode garnered over eight million viewers. The executives were worried that getting the family to agree to the new terms and conditions would be a headache as they had gained more leverage.
They were not wrong, and when MTV sought to have a new deal, the Osbournes kept changing their terms. Luckily, after months of negotiations and promising to sign the new contract in blood, the family got the biggest deal in the history of MTV at the time. The agreement was valued at a maximum of $7 million by MTV and over $20 million by agents. With Osbourne being part of the cast, she must have made a killing from her appearances. Some sources claimed that each family member, except Aimee, who was not cast because she wanted her privacy, got $50,000, and by the end of season 2, they each got $5 million.
The series had four seasons, and by then, the family had, of course, negotiated better salaries. The funny thing is Ozzy does not like reality TV shows, but the rest of his family does, excluding Aimee. Rumors of “The Osbournes” reboot are already in the air, as reported by Hollywood Life. If they turn true, then Osbourne is going to make a few more millions.
Music and Fashion
Part of the reason that made Sharon sign the MTV deal was that the network had blocked “The Osbournes” show from being aired in Britain, where her husband needed to gain publicity before going on a concert tour there. Furthermore, MTV knew that Sharon was bent on helping her daughter launch her music career; hence they would not play Osbourne’s version of Madonna’s “Papa Don’t Preach” until the matriarch signed the deal. After she did, Osbourne’s lead single of Madonna’s cover debuted at the MTV Film Awards in 2002. It was a track from her debut album, “Shut Up.” She later partnered with her father, and the duet had more sales after dropping off from the top of the charts.
Osbourne’s unique sense of fashion also prompted her to partner with her long-time friend, Ali Barone, to launch Stiletto Killers, a clothing line. According to WWD, they started the business with a capital of $10,000. It was an intelligent decision as Osbourne said they did not want to invest heavily in case the business failed, as they had witnessed from their friends’ experiences. Within two years, Stiletto Killers had expanded to operate 100 stores and an online shop. Osbourne was keen on designing the clothes herself because it is her passion. Therefore, even after Stiletto Killers shut down, she tried her luck again with “Stories…By Kelly Osbourne,” a clothing line that was designed to cater to all age groups and body sizes. As seen on ThredUp, she still is making some money off the clothing line sales.
TV Hosting Gigs
Osbourne has been lucky to land several TV hosting gigs, including co-hosting “I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here! NOW!” in 2006. Although it is not clear how much she was paid, a contestant, Mo Farah, will take home £300,000, which should mean that a host gets much more or maybe a comparable amount. The multi-talented Osbourne also has hosted several MTV award shows. According to Cheatsheet, the figures celebrities are paid for hosting such awards can range between $15,000 and $100,000. Seeing how high-profile Osbourne is, let’s assume that her pay was on the higher end. That would mean that with her hosting gigs, she must have earned at least $500,000 in total.
Besides, she was a guest judge for “Project Catwalk” before hosting the show’s second and third seasons. Reality TV shows hosts can make between $200,000 and $15 million depending on their popularity; Heidi Klum made $1.3 million annually in 2008 from “Project Runaway” and in 2017 earned $21 million after hosting “Germany’s Next Top Model.” Osbourne has also hosted “Fashion Police” MISS USA pageants and was a guest judge on “Project Runway” and “RuPaul’s Drag Race.” All these gigs helped to boost her net worth.
Podcasting and Acting
Among her many talents, Osbourne is a good actress who made her debut in 2004 on “Life As We Know It.” She has gone ahead to bag more acting roles, including Ladybug on “The Masked Singer” and Nicole on “Should’ve Been Romeo.” On “The Masked Singer, the contestants are paid weekly; they get $10,000 as a signing fee and $200,000 per episode. Apart from acting, Osbourne seems to love the screen, having grown up in the limelight, and now she has her podcast show alongside Jeff Beacher. According to Blabbermouth, the podcast “The Kelly Osbourne and Jeff Beacher Show” launched on May 4, 2021, and highlights the transformation of both hosts since both hosts have lost a significant amount of weight.
Osbourne said she has always dreamed of being a talk show and radio host. Podcasts still make money depending on the number of downloads and advertisements. For instance, “The American Life” averages 2.5 million downloads per week, which puts its earnings at $75,000 per week, including advertising income. Although Osbourne’s podcast is yet to reach such massive popularity, she could be raking in such high figures and grow her $20 million net worth with time.