Karen Carpenter, along with her brother Richard Carpenter, sold millions of records with 17
top 20 hits throughout the 1970s and 80s.
Carpenter was only 19 when she and her brother signed to A and M Records, but their first
album failed to make waves.
However, their second featured their hit single, "(They Long to Be) Close to You," which shot
The Carpenters into stardom and ultimately won them a Grammy.
As their fame and popularity increased, so did the pressure on Karen Carpenter.
She had always been a dieter but being in the public eye took it to another level.
Carpenter began her quest for thinness after she graduated high school.
Though she was never significantly overweight, she did consider herself to be, quote, "chubby."
Carpenter later hired a personal trainer who put her on a high-carb diet that ultimately
made her gain weight.
She fired the trainer and took matters into her own hands.
Carpenter began counting calories and restricting her food intake during meals.
At the beginning of her career in 1970, the 5-foot-5-inch Carpenter was 120 pounds, but
by 1975, she weighed just 90 pounds.
The Carpenters were forced to cancel tours due to Karen collapsing on stage.
It became clear that she was not eating and was experiencing physical and nervous exhaustion.
Friends later described Carpenter as being, quote, "psychotic about her weight."
As well as her friends, fans and critics alike were appalled by Carpenter's diminishing figure.
What she was actually suffering from was Anorexia nervosa, something that Time reported was
not widely understood at the time.
Her friends and family did not know how to help her, and by the early 1980s, her eating
disorder was advanced.
Carpenter, who was reeling from a failed marriage and a grueling tour schedule, decided to seek
help in New York.
She would spend almost an entire year in the city.
Shortly after her arrival, Carpenter made some shocking confessions.
She told her therapist that she was taking 80 to 90 laxatives a night to lose weight.
Additionally, Carpenter was abusing thyroid medication and was taking up to 10 pills a
day to speed up her metabolism, despite her thyroid being normal.
With professional help, Carpenter managed to gain around 23 pounds during this time.
Much to the dismay of her therapist, Carpenter cut her treatment short and left New York
to return to Los Angeles just in time for Thanksgiving.
Although she was still weak, Carpenter was eating and making future tours plans.
Months later, on February 4, 1983, Carpenter was found unresponsive on the floor at her
parents' home.
She was rushed to a hospital but doctors could not save her.
Carpenter was only 32-years-old.
According to Autopsy Files.org Carpenter's autopsy revealed that at the time of her death,
she weighed only 108 pounds.
She had no solid material or food in her stomach with only a dark green material that had,
quote, "the consistency of dried leaves."
Both her stomach and bowel were swollen and no medications were detected.
However, a bottle of Ativan was found in the pockets of the red jogging suit she had been
wearing when she collapsed.
Officially, Carpenter's death is listed as emetine [EHM-eh-teen] cardiotoxicity, [card-ee-yoh-tox-ISS-ih-tee]
due to Anorexia nervosa.
In other words, Carpenter had suffered heart failure brought on by her eating disorder.
This can be common for those with Anorexia, as gaining weight, as Carpenter had done,
can put a strain on the heart.
It was also learned that she was taking ipecac syrup, a vomit-inducing drug that she thought
would prevent her from gaining weight.
Instead, it weakened her heart even more.
Over-the-counter sales of the drug were later banned after her death.
It's believed that Carpenter's Anorexia partly stemmed from her strained relationship with
her mother, Agnes.
By all accounts, Agnes doted more on Richard and withheld affection for Carpenter.
Carpenter is considered to be the first publicized celebrity death from an eating disorder.
It brought perception and recognition to Anorexia, a little-known disease at the time.
If you are struggling with an eating disorder, or know someone who is, help is available.
Visit the National Eating Disorders Association website or contact their Live Helpline at
1-800-931-2237.
You can also receive 24/7 Crisis Support via text.
Send NEDA to 741-741.