Profile of Lena Zavaroni on Famous Like Me

Lena Zavaroni was a Scottish entertainer.

Her Italian surname came from her immigrant grandfather. She was born 4 November 1963 in the small town of Rothesay on the Isle of Bute to musical parents - Victor played the guitar and Hilda sang. Lena sang from an early age and was banned from the local talent competitions for always winning.

Her story really started when impresario Tommy Scott, on holiday in Rothesay, heard her singing in the family band. Her big break came with an TV appearance of Hughie Green’s Opportunity Knocks late in 1973 - she made her first recording “Ma, He’s Making Eyes At Me” in the following January. It reached number eight in the British chart, and she became the youngest person to appear on “Top of the Pops”.

As well as performing in England she sang with Frank Sinatra and Lucille Ball in a Hollywood charity show. She then guested on the US TV’s Carrol Burnett Show, sharing a dressing room with Liza Minnelli. In the following year she sang all around the world, even in the White House, and appeared on British TV several times.

However, the constant press coverage got to her, and by the end of 1979 she had succumbed to anorexia nervosa - a complaint that would return again and again in coming decades. She tried to lead more of a normal life, and in 1989 married Peter Wiltshire. But the marriage only lasted 18 months, and then her mother committed suicide.

Friends and family tried to rescue her, but to no avail. She died 1 October 1999.

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