Her elder brother Richard developed an interest in music at an early age, becoming a piano prodigy. Harold had been born in China where his parents were missionaries and was educated at boarding schools in England, before working in the printing business. Karen Anne Carpenter was born on Main New Haven, Connecticut, the daughter of Agnes Reuwer (née Tatum, Ma– November 10, 1996) and Harold Bertram Carpenter (Novem– October 15, 1988). Her work continues to attract praise, including being listed in Rolling Stone 's 100 greatest singers of all time. She died at age 32 from heart failure caused by complications related to her illness, and her death led to increased visibility and awareness of eating disorders. While the Carpenters were on hiatus in the late 1970s, she recorded a solo album, which was never released during her lifetime.Ĭarpenter suffered from the eating disorder anorexia nervosa, which was little known at the time, and was briefly married in the early 1980s. Initially, Carpenter was the band's full-time drummer, but gradually took over the role of frontwoman as drumming was reduced to a handful of live showcases or tracks on albums. After several years of touring and recording, the Carpenters were signed in 1969 and achieved commercial and critical success throughout the 1970s. She began to study the drums at High School, and upon graduation, joined the Long Beach State choir. Carpenter was born in New Haven, Connecticut and moved to Downey, California in 1963 with her family.

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