Starving Artists

Lord Byron (1788-1824)

Lord Byron was a highly influential British poet, and one of the major figures in the romantic movement. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest British poets.

His eating habits have been described in detail by himself and others, when he began studying at Cambridge University he began a strict diet to control his weight, he has been described as oscilating between periods of both anorexia and bulimia nervosa. At 5 feet 9 inches (175cm) his highest known weight was 14 stone (200lb, 89kg) and his lowest was 9 and a half stone (133lb, 60kg), although it may have dropped lower. He was known to exercise obsessively, often whilst wearing excessive clothing to cause himself to sweat, he was a vegetarian for much of his life but would occasionally binge on excessive quantities of meat and desserts and then purge. He often would live on a diet of dry biscuits and white wine for days on end, and then eat a "horrid mess of cold potatoes, rice, fish, or greens, deluged in vinegar, and gobble it up like a famished dog."

Lord Byron once said that he "would rather not exist than be large", he also believed that becoming fat would result in lethargy and stupidity. He starved himself on several occasions, once saying "I will not be the slave of any appetite. If I do err, it shall be my heart, at least that heralds the way". Eventually, his endless weight fluctuations and bizarre habits seemingly caught up with him, he died after developing a fever - potentially malaria, in 1824, and died, he was 36.

Franz Kafka (1883-1924)

Franz Kafka was a Czech writer, born in Prague in 1883, he was relatively unknown during his life, but after his death many of his previously unseen works were published, and he is now acclaimed by many.

Franz Kafka was underweight throughout his life, it has been said that he suffered from 'an atypical anorexia nervosa', he expressed a desire to 'be' literature, and felt that abstaining from food and other pleasures would improve his writing, he believed that people found him 'physically and mentally repulsive', even though this was not true. One of his short stories, entitled 'A Hunger Artist', details a man, who starves himself in a cage for forty days as a performance for spectators. By the end of the story, the public have lost all interest in the hunger artist, and when someone finds him, he confesses that he should not be admired, because the reason for his fasting is that he could not find a food to his liking, he dies, and a Panther shortly inhabits his cage, much to the public's delight.

Kafka died in 1924, likely due to starvation, but the starvation was caused by laryngeal tuberculosis and not anorexia.

Richey Edwards (1967-?)

Richey Edwards was a Welsh musician, he was rhythm guitarist and primary lyricist for band 'Manic Street Preachers' from 1989 to 1995.

Many people, including Edwards himself, say that he suffered from anorexia nervosa. His lowest reported weight was 6 stone, or just below that, and he was 5 foot 8. As well as suffering from alcoholism, episodes of self harm, and severe depression, his eating and exercise habits varied wildly. He reported at one time to be doing 1500 sit ups a day, another time, he would eat one meal a day, consisting of a jacket potato and grapes, and then would drink a bottle of vodka at night. He would also restrict himself to just two bars of chocolate, crumbling them up into a bowl and eating them like that, around the release of the holy bible he was hospitalised at the Priory hospital roehampton, but remaining members of the band say they don't believe it helped him.

On the 1st of February 1995, Richey disappeared, it is still unknown what happened to him, but many think he committed suicide by jumping into the river Severn, though this is controversial.

Karen Carpenter (1950-1983)

Karen Carpenter was an American musician, she was the lead singer and drummer for her and her brother's band 'The Carpenters'.

In 1975 Karen began experiencing symptoms of Anorexia Nervosa, she died in 1983 aged 32 from complications from the disorder, she was one of the first well-known cases of Anorexia and helped bring it into the public eye. She began dieting in high school and reduced her weight to 120lb or 54kg, she stayed around that weight until about 1973 when she saw a photo of herself on stage and thought it made her appear heavy, so she hired a personal trainer and lost about 20lb, she planned to lose another 5.

Her eating habits changed around this time, she began trying to reduce the amount of food on her plate by offering tastes to others, by September 1975 she weighed 91lb, or 41kg. When asked in a TV interview whether she was suffering from Anorexia Nervosa, she denied it, however she and those around her knew something was wrong. By late 1981 she was taking thyroid-replacing medication to speed up her metabolism, which she obtained using a fake name, as well as up to 90 laxatives a night. Her condition continued to deteriorate, and she eventually reached a low of 77lb or 35kg.

In September 1982 she was admitted to a hospital in New York, there she gained 30lb or 14kg relatiively quickly on intravenous parenteral nutrition, this was successful and she maintained around this weight for the rest of her life, but this put strain on her heart, as it was already weak from her anorexia. On the 4th of February 1983, Karen Carpenter died of a cardiac arrest, a consequence of her anorexia, specifically her repeated use of ipecac, a drug used to induce vomiting.

John Lennon (1940-1980)

John Lennon was an English musician, songwriter, and activist. He was the rhythm guitarist and co-lead vocalist of The Beatles, as well as having an extremely successful solo career. In 1980, he was shot and killed three weeks after the release of his final album with Yoko Ono.

John Lennon is thought to have suffered from the eating disorder Bulimia Nervosa, he was described as having 'food fetishes', he was always hungry and loved to eat but hated feeling full and would force himself to vomit after eating.

Lena Zavaroni (1963-1999)

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