Born in New Haven, Connecticut, Karen Carpenter moved with her family to Downy, California, in 1963. Karen's older brother, Richard Carpenter, decided to put together an instrumental trio with him on the piano, Karen on the drums and their friend Wes Jacobs on the bass and tuba. In a battle of the bands at the Hollywood Bowl in 1966, the group won first place and landed a contract with RCA Records. After cutting two albums that were never released the trio broke up, but Karen and Richard formed another band with four other students from California State University that played several gigs before disbanding. In 1970 Karen and Richard made several demo music tapes and shopped them around to different record companies; they were eventually offered a contract with A&M Records. Their first hit was a reworking of The Beatles hit "Ticket to Ride", followed by a rerecorded version of Burt Bacharach's "Close to You", which sold a million copies.

Soon Richard and Karen became one of the most successful groups of the early 1970s, with Karen on the drums and lead vocals and Richard on the piano with backup vocals. They won three Grammy Awards, embarked on a world tour, and landed their own TV variety series in 1971, titled Make Your Own Kind of Music!. However, nobody knew that Karen was at the time suffering from anorexia nervosa, a mental illness characterized by obsessive dieting to a point of starvation.

In 1975 the story came out when The Carpenters were forced to cancel a European tour because the gaunt Karen was too weak to perform. In 1976 she moved out of her parents' house to an apartment of her own. A few years later she married real estate developer Thomas J. Burris. Shortly afterwards, she and brother Richard were back in the recording studio, where they recorded their hit single "Touch Me When We're Dancing". However, Karen was unable to shake her depression as well as her eating disorder, and after collapsing after a recording, she spent most of 1982 in a New York City hospital undergoing treatment. Her marriage was falling apart, and she and Burris were divorced by the end of the year. By 1983 Karen was starting to take control of her life and planning to return to the recording studio and began making public appearances again. On February 4, 1983, she went to her parents' house to sort through some clothes she kept there when she collapsed in a walk-in closet from cardiac arrest and was pronounced dead on the spot. She was only 32. Doctors revealed that her long battle with anorexia nervosa had stressed her heart to the breaking point.
In her mid 20s, she was still living with her parents. At 30, she made a solo album with producer Phil Ramone in 1980, titled "Karen Carpenter". However, it was shelved by A&M executive Herb Alpert. 16 years later in 1996, it was finally released. Was married at the Beverly Hills Hotel in the Crystal Room on Thursday, December 11, 2003 she, Agnes and Harold were exhumed from Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Cypress, California and were moved to Pierce Brothers Valley Oaks Memorial Park in Westlake Village, California. Agnes, Karen and Harold remained in their original caskets. At 12:30pm PST they were all re-interred and entombed in a private family mausoleum in the Tranquility Gardens section of the cemetery. Ranked #29 on VH1's 100 Greatest Women of Rock N Roll Favorite drink was iced tea. Sang "Bless the Beasts and the Children" with her brother Richard Carpenter at The 44th Annual Academy Awards. Started out singing in two unsuccessful singings bands called "The Dick Carpenter Trio", and "Spectrum". "A Star on Earth - A Star in Heaven" is written in her mausoleum. Among her friends were Petula Clark, Olivia Newton-John, and Dionne Warwick. While being treated for anorexia, she crocheted a sign above her hospital bed that read "You Win, I gain!". Went to high school in Downey, California. Dedicated her solo album to her brother Richard Carpenter. As of April 2004, her brother Richard Carpenter has made 4 new "Carpenters" albums since her death. This is possible by using songs that were left off previous albums and making new albums out of them. He also uses songs that Karen recorded and then later arranges music to accompany them. On Wednesday, October 12, 1983 she posthumously received a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, along with her brother Richard Carpenter. The star is located at 6931 Hollywood Blvd. She didn't like the song "Superstar" until after hearing her brother's arrangement for it; she then considered it one of her favorites that the "Carpenters" had done. The song "Now", recorded in April 1982, was the last song she ever recorded. The Carpenters franchise is very big and popular in Japan. in 1976, she bought a Century City condominium. she gutted two separate apartments and turned it into one. the address was 2222 Avenue of the Stars. As a housewarming-gift her mother Agnes Carpenter gave her a collection of leather-bound classic works of literature. Collected Disney memorabilia. Songwriter Paul Williams wrote "Rainy Days And Mondays" for her. Ranked #30 on "E!'s 101 Most Shocking Moments In Entertainment History". Her funeral took place on February 8, 1983 at the United Methodist Church in Downey, California. Mother is Agnes Carpenter, father Harold Carpenter. Performed and sang for Richard Nixon at the White House in 1972. Played the drums. Was close to her brother Richard Carpenter. Songwriter Peter Cetera wrote "Making Love in the Afternoon" for her. Her favorite Carpenters song was "I Need To Be In Love". Won the 1966 "Battle of the Bands" contest at the Hollywood Bowl. Loved to play softball/baseball. Won 3 Grammy Awards. Had to have surgery on her ear, during the late 1970s, for impaired hearing. Went to Bora Bora for her honeymoon. Her cover version of "(They Long to Be) Close to You" was originally recorded by Dusty Springfield in 1964, shortly before Dionne Warwick recorded it that same year. Dusty's was scheduled for release as a single, and potential follow-up to her no. 3 hit "I Just Don't Know What To Do with Myself". However, it wasn't until three years later, in 1967, that it finally was released on her Where Am I Going? album, with the beginning intro cut from its release. During her solo endeavor, many of the demos Karen recorded were scrapped and decided not to be used for the album. Despite the rumor that only 11 tracks were completed and/or used, one more is indeed finished. It is a mellowed-out and heartfelt cover of Evie Sands's 1975 #50 Pop charter, "I Love Makin' Love to You." When A&M Records folded in 2000, it and 6 of out of the 8 demos began surfacing on the Internet. Fans who have heard Karen's version of "Makin' Love..." feel it is probably the best song to come out of her solo sessions. Sadly, it is unlikely it will ever official see the light of day, for many believe A&M discarded of the material when it closed its doors. Another song almost completed (even with backing vocals, but lacking orchestration) is a cover of Vicki Sue Robinson's "Don't Try to Win Me Back Again." Has four nieces and one nephew: Richard Carpenter's five children. After her recovery, she planned to go public about her battle with anorexia. Her ex-husband Tom Burris was a real-estate developer. At the time they met, Tom was a 39-year-old divorce with an 18-year-old son. Karen was 30 years old. Sang "Because We Are In Love" at her 1980 wedding. The song was written by her brother Richard Carpenter and friend John Bettis. The rock band Sonic Youth, wrote a song about Karen, called "Tunic (Song For Karen)". They also contributed to a 1994 tribute album for the Carpenters. had her own personalized driver's license plate which was: KAC3 She was portrayed by a Barbie Doll in Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story When she was 17, she went on the "Stillman Diet" with a doctor's guidance, and lost between 20 and 25 pounds in 1998 the RIAA certified that "The Singles 1969 - 1973" had sold 7 million units since its release in 1973. This makes "The Singles 1969 - 1973" the Carpenters' best-selling album ever (as of 2005). The Carpenters 2nd best-selling album is "Carpenters (the tan album)" - it has sold 4 million units since its release in 1971 In 1975, "Please Mr. Postman" became the Carpenters' 10th & last certified Gold single In 1970, "(They Long To Be) Close To You" became the Carpenters' 1st certified Gold single She befriended Cherry Boone while getting treated for Anorexia. Boone herself was a recovered anorectic The Carpenters are still A&M Records biggest & best-selling artists. Her childhood home was 55 Hall Street (in New Haven, Connecticut). She went to school at Nathan Hale Elementary School in Connecticut. Her family started the "Karen A. Carpenter Memorial Foundation", which raised money for research on anorexia nervosa and eating disorders. Today the title has been changed to "Carpenter Family Foundation"... in addition to eating disorders, the foundation now funds the arts, entertainment and education Died a married woman. She was planning to officially sign divorce papers on the day she died. The doorbell in her Century City condo chimed the first six notes of "We've Only Just Begun". Her cousin Mark Rudolph appears in the Carpenters album "Now & Then" Her sister-in-law is Mary Carpenter By June 1981, the Carpenters had sold over 55 million albums On September 4, 1978 the Carpenters gave their last concert at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas By 1977, the Carpenters received 11 gold records from Japan In 1976, the Carpenters tour of Japan was the largest grossing in Japanese history The Carpenters catalog leads all A&M Records artists for the most number of compilation albums created from original material. It is also the catalog most often reissued. The Carpenters' famous Newville house, located at 9828 Newville Avenue, Downey, California, is pictured in their 5th album "Now & Then". This was also the same house where Karen died. After the Carpenters became successful during the early 1970s, she & her brother bought two apartment buildings in Downey, California and called them "Close To You" and "Only Just Begun". Today, the "Close To You Apartments" can still be located at - 8356 East 5th, Downey, California. Her alma mater was CSU Long Beach in California She was a fan of Matt Monro and Spike Jones and His City Slickers The Carpenter Private Mausoleum in Westlake Village, California is a 46,000-pound, Partenope-style structure and was constructed in Texas over seven months. It is polished sunset red with beautiful warmth and color and lively crystal patterns. Similar structures have a price range of $600,000. Karen, Agnes, and Harold use up 3 out of 6 spaces in the mausoleum. She was managed by Sherwin Bash from 1970 - 1975 She was managed by Terry Ellis from 1975 - 1976 She was managed by Jerry Weintraub from 1976 - 1983 ranked #3 on Entertainment Tonight's top 25 stories in 25 years Argueably, her best performance is a song which was never even released. It was a song opted not to be used on her infamous aborted solo album. It is a song penned by Paul Jabara ["Last Dance"] and Jay Asher, and is called "Something's Missing (In My Life)." Many who have heard the work-lead feel it truly relates to Karen's personal struggles and depth of her feelings. The song remains unmixed and without strings. The song some people regard as her best Carpenters song is a song which was her personal favorite called "I Need to Be in Love." There are 10 unreleased tracks from her 1979 solo endeavor. Eight of them are work-leads, while the remaining two are considered outtakes. They are left unmixed, with no top layer which would involved mixing acoustics. Those two tracks are "I Love Makin' Love to You," and "Truly You." Only one of the work-leads in close enough to be outtake material. That song is "Don't Try to Win Me Back Again."