Marie Osmond has had nothing short of an interesting, eventful life. She’s gone skydiving, released celebrated pop and country music, and headlined her own show. But Osmond has long dreamt of appearing on a soap opera and she is doing just that by joining the sprawling cast of The Bold and the Beautiful.
On the long-running soap opera, often shortened to B&B, Osmond plays Countess Von Frankfurt, a character who debuted on October 17 during B&B‘s usual 1:30 time slot as part of a unique crossover event. So far, reality has met and surpassed expectations for Osmond, who says she’s having the time of her life in this kind of setting.
Marie Osmond is excited to introduce viewers to her soap opera persona, Countess Von Frankfurt
Osmond says appearing on a soap opera has long been on her bucket list; helpfully, it’s a vision shared by her longtime “dear friend,” B&B head writer and executive producer Brad Bell. They’ve talked often about Osmond appearing on the soap opera.
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“I started [watching soaps] years ago with ‘The Young and the Restless,’ which was created by Brad’s dad, William Bell,” shared Osmond. “To make a long story short, I was in Las Vegas for 11 years and had what I call a ‘real’ residency; I did five nights a week all year long and four [nights] during the summer and Christmas. It was hard to find time to do these extra scenes.”
She continued, “I was down in LA, helping my daughter with the children and I got a call from them saying, ‘Hey, we’re doing this big fashion show — both ‘B&B’ and ‘Y&R’ are coming together — and I went, ‘What the heck, let’s do this!'”
That’s right: Countess Von Frankfurt is part of a thrilling crossover between The Bold and the Beautiful and The Young and the Restless.
Bringing an extra dose of attitude to the soap opera
The role of villain – or at least an antagonistic force – lures many actors for how charismatic and different they can be. Playing the Countess has been similarly fun for Osmond. The Countless has been “fun to play” as she is the kind who “thinks the world revolves around her” and has a “serious attitude” throughout the character’s three-episode arc.
“She only goes to exclusive showings and she only wears originals,” recounted Osmond. “And so of course, she knows rich. And I don’t know how to describe that person that lives on a yacht and travels the world and really needs her ego put in check.”
Even though Osmond is a part of the greater soap opera family now, she still greatly admires the genre veterans, while finding them to be kindred spirits. “I watched them and their work ethic is insane,” she praised. “It kind of reminds me, like, back in the day with variety. Because you only had, like, one shot … to keep the time. You know, you can’t get behind.”
She added, “The way they get their scripts, and the speeches, they have to know them within a day. It’s just really impressive. They worked really hard,” she continued.”
Did you catch the B&B arc featuring Marie Osmond making her soap opera bucket list dreams come true?