Widely considered as one of the greatest vocalists of all time, described often as having the voice of angel, the tragic singer died in her early 30s following a relentless battle with an eating disorder. We take a look at the life of Karen Carpenter, perhaps one of the most high-profile sufferers of anorexia.
Karen’s career in music began at 15 when she played alongside her brother in The Richard Carpenter Trio, who surprisingly mainly played jazz music. Karen taught herself how to play the drums and considered herself a “drummer who could sing.” When the Carpenters finally landed their first recording deal in 1969, Karen sang most of the lead vocals. The massive hits Close to You and We’ve Only Just Begun followed later.
More often than not, Karen is not remembered for her remarkable talents but sadly for her battle with anorexia which had been ongoing from an early age. Noticing how thin she had become on tour at one stage, Karen hired a trainer and bulked up. Feeling that she had put on too much weight, she subsequently fired the trainer and began to shed the weight herself. Unfortunately, as noted by her family, this was through unhealthy means; skipping meals and exercising to an extreme.
Life in the spotlight was difficult for Karen, photos would surface and she would become highly critical of herself. She even maintained it was difficult to have a healthy diet on the road, quoted in The Guardian as saying: “When you’re on the road it’s hard to eat. Period. On top of that, it’s rough to eat well. We don’t like to eat before a show because I can’t stand singing with a full stomach… You never get to dinner until, like, midnight, and if you eat heavy you’re not going to sleep, and you’re going to be a balloon.”
Given that anorexia was a recently named disease at the time, many of those around her did not understand it or her mental state of mind. Karen often visited a psychotherapist but had been taken thyroid medication and laxatives in order to shed the weight quickly. She often defied the programme her doctor placed her on, avoided her mother who tried so desperatley to help her get well again and covered herself up so as others would not see how desperate the situation had become.
At her lowest point, Karen was down to about 5 and half stone. When she complained of irregular heart beats she was admitted to hospital where they attempted to increase her weight by an intravenous drip. Karen gained 30 pounds which only managed to put more pressure on her heart. A mere month before her 33rd birthday, Karen Carpenter suffered heart failure at her home and her naked body was discovered by her mother. She once commented that “I’m just afraid I’m gonna miss it all… being married.. being a mother.”
Bodywhys is the national voluntary organisation supporting people affected by eating disorders, see here for more information.
