Early life Zavaroni was born in
Greenock,
Renfrewshire, and grew up in the small town of
Rothesay on the
Isle of Bute. Her parents owned a
fish and chip shop. Her father Victor (b. 1939) played the guitar and her mother Hilda (née Jordan) ( 1940 – 1989) sang. Her grandfather Alfredo had emigrated from Italy. Zavaroni began singing at the age of two. She was discovered in the summer of 1973 by record producer
Tommy Scott, who was on holiday in Rothesay and heard her singing in a band with her father and uncle. Scott contacted impresario
Phil Solomon, which led to his partner Dorothy Solomon becoming Zavaroni's manager.
Musical career In 1974, Zavaroni appeared on
Opportunity Knocks (hosted by
Hughie Green) and won the show for a record-breaking five weeks running. She followed this with the album ''
Ma! (He's Making Eyes at Me)'', a collection of classic and then-recent pop standards which reached number 8 in the UK Albums Chart. She remains the youngest person to have an album in the top 10, having reached the position at 10 years, 146 days old. Zavaroni sang at a Hollywood charity show with
Frank Sinatra and
Lucille Ball in 1974, at which Ball said: "You're special. Very special and very, very good", although some sources attribute the words to Sinatra. Following this, Zavaroni guest-starred on
The Carol Burnett Show, and on 4 June 1974,
The Tonight Show. She also appeared on
The Morecambe and Wise Show, the 29 May 1975 episode of
The Wheeltappers and Shunters Social Club, in the 1976
Royal Variety Show and performed at the
White House for U.S. President
Gerald Ford. Signed to the
soul-oriented
Stax Records label in the United States, Zavaroni was not especially successful in America despite the praise and television appearances; her
Ma album did not enter the charts, and its title single only reached number 91 on the
Billboard Hot 100 during a four-week chart run in the summer of 1974.
Stage and television career While attending London's
Italia Conti Academy stage school, Zavaroni met and became long-term friends with another young star,
Bonnie Langford. They starred in the ITV special
Lena and Bonnie. In September 1978, the BBC broadcast
Lena Zavaroni on Broadway. This episode which was chosen for the 1978 Golden Sea Swallow Festival, where it won the silver award. In 1979, Zavaroni had her own TV series on the BBC titled
Lena Zavaroni and Music and from 1980 to 1982 she had a TV series titled
Lena.
Later years From the age of 13, Zavaroni suffered from anorexia nervosa. While she was at stage school, her weight dropped to . She blamed this on the pressure placed upon her to fit into costumes while at the same time "developing as a woman". In September 1999, Zavaroni was admitted to
University Hospital of Wales in
Cardiff for the neurosurgical procedure. It took place on 7 September and was described as "pioneering". Her funeral took place at the
Roman Catholic Church of St Augustine in Hoddesdon on 15 October 1999, and she was buried later that day at
Hoddesdon Cemetery in Hertfordshire. == Legacy ==