During her inspirational speech, Osmond was very candid with her struggles. Her honesty helped her connect with fans and her sense of humor kept us on our toes during an exclusive interview.
Fans were ecstatic to find Marie Osmond so approachable. 47 years in show business and Marie's wit is as sharp as ever. In response to being told she looked great, Osmond said, "Well thank you," before playfully asking, "Are you hitting on me?"
Marie Osmond's quirky sense of humor was always apparent. She grew up in the public eye. Donny and Marie still perform in Las Vegas but she couldn't pass on a visit to Fresno. Osmond explained, "You know what, I have eight brothers so any opportunity I get to hang out with the chicks I do it."
Osmond set out to throw back a few drinks - of water, with her friends here. But the pain of losing family members caused her to pause during her speech. "Wow, sorry. First I've ever talked about it."
Osmond found strength from the audience. She said, "The reality is I've had struggles just like anyone else. Heartbreakingly, especially for my children, sometimes very public. Someday I'm sure I'll be able to speak about my son Michael but right now it's a little too difficult for me and I'm sure that you have compassion and understanding and I'm grateful for that."
Osmond also talked of dealing with depression. The professional entertainer and mother of eight offered this advice to women trying to balance careers and family. "You can't take your worst and compare it to somebody's best and women are really hard on themselves and so I think you can do it all. I don't think you can do it all at once."
Marie Osmond's message clearly hit home with many women. Conference attendee Janet Vilhauer said, "It was encouraging. It was touching. It brought tears to my eyes. Gave me a lot of inspiration."
Cynthia Borzoni waited a lifetime to thank Marie Osmond for her kindness. She explained, "When I was 8-years-old and we had a fire accident in Bakersfield. We lost my daddy, and my 2-year-old sister. Sonny and Cher, the Globetrotters and Donny and Marie Osmond had fundraisers for us."
After the speech Marie Osmond had to fly back to Vegas for Tuesday night's "Donny and Marie show" at the Flamingo.
