Celebrating Pop Moms: Annie Lennox
As a countdown to Mother's Day May 14th, I will be celebrating a pop mom, a pop music artist who also happens to be a mom, each day this week. Today's pop mom is Annie Lennox.
Annie Lennox, one of the most accomplished women in pop music, is also one of the most private. She has faced her fair share of struggles in relationships with men, but, by all indications, she is a devoted, loving, and caring mother to her 2 daughters, Lola, age 15, and Tali, age 12. She has set aside her professional career when needed to care for her family, and she has introduced her daughters to the importance of working for humanitarian causes in the world.
The pop spotlight first shone on Annie Lennox as the vocalist in the synth-pop duo Eurythmics. In a 6 year period from 1983 through 1989, Eurythmics reached the US pop singles chart 15 times. They hit the top 10 with "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)," (Listen) "Here Comes the Rain Again," (Listen) and "Would I Lie to You?" (Listen) In the 1990's Annie Lennox pursued a solo career and released 6 more chart hits. Her biggest solo single is "Walking on Broken Glass." (Listen)
Annie Lennox also has a tremendous record as a humanitarian and worker for social justice. She has strongly supported the work of organizations such as Greenpeace and Amnesty International. Lennox was a featured performer at Live 8. Her most recent humanitarian work has centered on relief for those suffering from AIDs in Africa. In early 2005 she took her daughters with her to observe the impact of the disease in South Africa. She said of this visit "'I see Nelson Mandela in the twilight of his years thinking, 'We've conquered apartheid, now Africans face genocide.' How can intelligent, educated Westerners like myself live with that on my conscience? I know I can't." Annie Lennox has also taken on the role of patron for an award-winning MA course in Humanitarian and Development Practice at Oxford Brookes University.
The personal life of Annie Lennox has had its share of sad moments. She has been married twice, but both times the relationships ended in divorce. Her first pregnancy ended with the stillborn birth of a son, Daniel. Since the births of her daughters Lola and Tali, Annie Lennox has periodically taken time off from her grueling schedule as a performer to devote her energy to being a mother and taking care of the family. At the age of 51, Lennox maintains a very private life away from the spotlight to allow for as normal a family life as possible.
Please join me in celebrating pop mom Annie Lennox.
More pop moms:
Photo © J Records.
Comments
Happy Mother’s Day Annie, from someone who has admired you for many years and will continue for many more! Also would like to add a Happy Mother’s Day to Dave Stewart’s wife as well! I’m a fan of them as well!
Well done Annie, your powerful voice, passion and personality have inspired me for years. Well done for putting your soul into your music, that is quite rare, I feel. Keep on making a difference and inspiring others to care! love to you and your family
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