Lena Zavaroni Biography

Lena Zavaroni was an extraordinarily talented Scottish singer whose greatest claim to fame is becoming the youngest artist with a record in the top 10 ‘UK Albums Chart’. Lena achieved the feat at the tender age of 10—a record that still remains intact. Hailed as a child prodigy, she got a chance to perform in a TV show, ‘Opportunity Knocks’, and went on to win five successive episodes of the program. As a 13-year old adolescent, she featured at the ‘Royal Variety Show’ and shared the stage with the likes of Lucille Ball, Barbara Streisand, and Frank Sinatra. She also received numerous invitations to host TV shows and even emceed her own programs. However, her scintillating professional career came under severe strain when she began showing symptoms of anorexia nervosa—a grave eating disorder—that tormented her until her death prematurely at 34. She was diagnosed with clinical depression when she was 15, and spent the better part of her remaining years shifting in and out of hospitals. The separation of her parents and her mother’s suicide, just months after her marriage made her a near invalid as the twin afflictions of depression and anorexia became more pronounced. She succumbed to bronchial pneumonia after suffering from chest infection, following a operation in University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff. Lena Zavaroni perfectly embodies the devastating effects of early stardom and excessive public as well as media attention.