Karen Carpenter: Starving for Perfection

Synopsis

As the #1 American musical act of the 1970s, The Carpenters were “top of the world,” producing a string of pop music masterpieces, including “Close to You,” “We’ve Only Just Begun,” and “Rainy Days and Mondays.” But behind closed doors, Karen’s quest for perfectionism resulted in low self-esteem, a disheartening love life, and a very public battle with anorexia nervosa, the eating disorder that resulted in her untimely death at the age of only 32.

Listed at AFS

Archived on the AFS site between Wed, Nov 29 2023 and Sun, Mar 15 2026, across 5 captures. These dates are inferred from Wayback Machine captures and may not be accurate.