Karen Carpenter is remembered as one of the greatest singers of all time thanks to her three-octave contralto range and her illustrious career in The Carpenters alongside her brother, Richard.
Together, the duo provided several smash hits during the 1970s, including (They Long to Be) Close to You and We've Only Just Begun. However, in 1975, Karen started suffering from anorexia nervosa, an eating disorder that eventually claimed her life at the age of 32 in 1983.
Karen started experimenting with dieting while she was still in high school, with medical professionals putting her on the Stillman Diet.
In 1973, at the height of her fame, she remarked: "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."
The singer reduced her weight, but after feeling that the clothes she wore during concerts made her look "heavy", she hired a personal trainer. However, the diet she followed allowed her to put on muscle, thus increasing her weight, and she soon fired her personal trainer before focusing on exercises to reduce weight and counting calories.
Karen's dieting drastically reduced her weight again and prompted concerns from fans, some of whom wrote to the band to ask what was wrong. In a 1981 interview on the BBC's Nationwide, she was asked if she had anorexia nervosa, but she brushed off concerns, claiming she was just "pooped".
Interventions
As she continued to lose weight, Karen's appearance started to concern her fans and close friends. Bandmates were also worried, and while anorexia wasn't understood at the time, some attempted to intervene.
Songwriter John Bettis, who collaborated with The Carpenters on numerous occasions, said at the time: "From the outside, the solution looks so simple. All a person has to do is eat. So we were constantly trying to shove food at Karen… My opinion about anorexia is it's an attempt to have control – something in your life you can do something about, that you can regiment. That just got out of control with her."
© WireImageHer agent, Sherman Bash, also commented: "The fact that she was anorexic was discussed innumerable times… There was every attempt to get her to seek professional help, but I believe her family was the kind of family where the mother would say, 'We can take care of ourselves. We don't need to have someone help. This is a family matter.'"
Following her death, Karen's brother told People: "It was right around that time that we heard about anorexia. I don’t recall how we learned about it, mainly we all just encouraged her to eat more. Mom cooked good healthy meals. Karen was never into binge eating, she merely picked at her food."
© Getty ImagesFriends also urged the star to seek help. Speaking to the Telegraph in 2016, Petula Clark recounted: "She came to my dressing room when I was in The Sound of Music, and I couldn't believe what I was seeing.
"As she was leaving, I gave her a big hug and said, 'I don’t know what's gone wrong, Karen, but you've got to stop this'. That was shortly before she died."
Karen's final months
In 1981, Karen started seeking help, moving to New York City to start therapy with Steven Levenkron, who discovered in early sessions that she had been taking certain drugs in order to control her metabolism.
The following year, she was admitted to Lenox Hill Hospital and given an intravenous diet, which helped her gain weight. She was later eating three meals a day and was enthusiastic about the weight gain, even ending her therapy sessions.
© Getty ImagesShe later returned to Los Angeles and made plans to restart her career; however, on 4 February 1983, she was found collapsed on her bedroom floor with her heart only beating once every ten seconds. Despite being rushed to hospital, Karen died later that day at the age of 32.
Her cause of death at the time was listed as "emetine cardiotoxicity due to or as a consequence of anorexia nervosa".
If you or someone you know is struggling with an eating disorder or eating difficulties, help is available. You can contact Beat on their adult helpline on 0808 801 0677 or their youthline on 0808 801 0711. You can also chat online or find local support resources at beateatingdisorders.org.uk.
