Annie Lennox facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Annie Lennox
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Lennox in 2023
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Ann Lennox
25 December 1954 Aberdeen, Scotland
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| Education | Royal Academy of Music |
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| Years active | 1976–present |
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| Relatives | Richard E. Besser (brother-in-law) |
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Annie Lennox (born 25 December 1954) is a famous Scottish singer, songwriter, and activist. She is also known for her work helping others. In the late 1970s, she was part of a band called the Tourists. Later, she and Dave Stewart formed the band Eurythmics. They became very successful around the world in the 1980s.
Annie Lennox was known for her unique style. In the 1983 music video for "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)", she had short orange hair and wore a man's suit. This look was very powerful and stood out. Eurythmics had many other hit songs. These included "There Must Be an Angel (Playing with My Heart)", "Love Is a Stranger", and "Here Comes the Rain Again".
In 1992, Annie Lennox started her solo career. Her first album, Diva, had popular songs like "Why" and "Walking on Broken Glass". She also sang "Love Song for a Vampire" for the movie Bram Stoker's Dracula. Her 1995 album Medusa featured cover songs. One famous song from it was ""No More 'I Love You's"".
Annie Lennox has won many awards. She has eight Brit Awards, including being named Best British Female Artist six times. She has also won four Grammy Awards and an MTV Video Music Award. In 2004, she won a Golden Globe and an Academy Award for Best Original Song for "Into the West". This song was for the movie The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.
Her voice is a contralto, which is a low female singing voice. She has been called "The Greatest White Soul Singer Alive" by VH1. Rolling Stone magazine named her one of The 100 Greatest Singers of All Time. By 2008, Annie Lennox had sold over 80 million records worldwide. This includes her work with Eurythmics. In 2012, she performed "Little Bird" at the 2012 Summer Olympics closing ceremony in London. In 2015, she became the first woman to be made a fellow of the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors. In 2020, she and Dave Stewart were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. They were also inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2022.
Annie Lennox is also a strong activist. She works to raise money and awareness for HIV/AIDS, especially for women and children in Africa. She started the Sing campaign in 2007. In 2008, she founded a charity called The Circle, which helps women. In 2011, Queen Elizabeth II gave her an OBE award. This was for her "tireless charity campaigns and championing of humanitarian causes". She performed at the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Concert in 2012. In 2017, she became the first female chancellor of Glasgow Caledonian University.
Early Life and Education
Annie Lennox was born on Christmas Day, 25 December 1954. She was born in Torry, Aberdeen, Scotland. Her parents were Dorothy Farquharson and Thomas Allison Lennox.
She went to Aberdeen High School for Girls. Her parents encouraged her to explore her artistic talents. She was very good at music, poetry, and art. She learned to play the flute and piano. She also sang in the choir and played in orchestras. She took part in the Aberdeen Music Festival every year.
While in high school, Annie Lennox took Dalcroze eurhythmics classes. This is a way to learn music through movement. The word eurhythmics means "good flow" in Greek. This is where the band Eurythmics got their name.
In 1971, Annie Lennox started studying music at the Royal Academy of Music in London. This is a very good music school. She studied flute, piano, and harpsichord for almost three years. However, she did not finish her studies there. She felt that becoming a classical musician required too much practice. She also felt disconnected from the "cultural aspect" of it.
She lived on a student grant and worked part-time jobs. She was unsure about her path and doubted her talent compared to other students. Her flute teacher's report said she was "very, very able". In 2017, the academy gave her an honorary doctorate degree.
Music Career
Early Bands and Eurythmics Success
In 1976, Annie Lennox played the flute in a band called Dragon's Playground. From 1977 to 1980, she was the lead singer of the Tourists. This was her first time working with Dave Stewart.
Lennox and Stewart then formed Eurythmics in the 1980s. This synth-pop duo brought her the most fame. Annie Lennox became known for her powerful voice and unique style. She often wore suits and even dressed up as Elvis Presley. Eurythmics released many hit songs in the 1980s.
Their hits included "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)", which was a number one hit in the US. Other popular songs were "There Must Be an Angel (Playing with My Heart)" (a UK number one), "Love Is A Stranger", and "Here Comes the Rain Again". Eurythmics never officially broke up, but Annie Lennox started her solo career in 1990.
Lennox and Stewart got back together as Eurythmics in the late 1990s. They released the album Peace in 1999. They also went on a concert tour, and the money raised went to Greenpeace and Amnesty International. Annie Lennox has won eight Brit Awards. Four of these were with Eurythmics. In 1999, the duo received an award for their amazing contribution to music.
In 1988, Annie Lennox sang a duet with Al Green called "Put a Little Love in Your Heart". This song was for the movie Scrooged. It was a top 10 hit in the US. She also performed "Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye" for the film Edward II. In 1992, she performed "Under Pressure" with David Bowie and the band Queen at the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert.
Solo Career: Diva and Medusa
Annie Lennox started working on her first solo album, Diva, in 1992. She thought about other things she could do, but decided that writing songs "affirms who I am". She said songwriting was "part of my identity".
Diva was a huge success. It reached number one in the UK. It also sold millions of copies in the UK and the US. The album had hit singles like "Why" and "Walking on Broken Glass". The video for "Walking on Broken Glass" featured actors Hugh Laurie and John Malkovich. Another song, "Little Bird", was released with "Love Song for a Vampire". This song was from the soundtrack of Bram Stoker's Dracula. The album won Best British Album at the 1993 Brit Awards.
Her second solo album, Medusa, came out in March 1995. This album was made up of only cover songs. These were songs originally sung by male artists like Bob Marley and Neil Young. Medusa also reached number one in the UK. It sold over 2 million copies in the US.
The album had four UK singles. ""No More 'I Love You's" " was her highest-charting solo single in the UK. Other singles included "A Whiter Shade of Pale". Medusa was nominated for a Grammy Award. Annie Lennox won a Grammy for "No More 'I Love You's'". She did not tour for this album. However, she performed a big concert in New York's Central Park. This concert was filmed and released as a video.
In 1998, Annie Lennox reunited with Dave Stewart. They started writing and recording music together again. This led to the album Peace. The album's name showed their concern for world peace. They promoted the album with a concert on the Greenpeace ship Rainbow Warrior II. "I Saved the World Today" was the main single from the album. In 2002, Billboard magazine gave Annie Lennox the Billboard Century Award. This is a very high honor.
Later Solo Albums and Activism
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In 2003, Annie Lennox released her third solo album, Bare. It reached number 3 in the UK and number 4 in the US. She went on her first solo tour to promote the album. The album was nominated for a Best Pop Album.
In 2004, Annie Lennox won an Academy Award for Best Original Song for "Into the West". She wrote this song with Fran Walsh and Howard Shore for The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. She performed the song live at the Academy Awards. It also won a Grammy and a Golden Globe. In 2005, she performed at Live 8 in London.
In 2005, Lennox and Stewart worked on two new songs for their Eurythmics album, Ultimate Collection. One of these songs was "I've Got a Life". This song was a number-one hit on the US Dance chart.
Annie Lennox's fourth solo album, Songs of Mass Destruction, was released in 2007. It reached number 7 in the UK and number 9 in the US. She said the album had "twelve strong, powerful, really emotive songs". The first single was "Dark Road". Another song, "Sing", was a collaboration with 23 other female artists. This song was made to raise money and awareness for the HIV/AIDS organization Treatment Action Campaign.
In 2009, Annie Lennox released a collection of her songs called The Annie Lennox Collection. This album included songs from her solo albums and two new songs. One new song was a cover of "Shining Light" by Ash. The other was a cover of Keane's song, which she renamed "Pattern of My Life". The album reached number 2 in the UK.
Recent Work and Recognition
In 2010, Annie Lennox signed a new music contract. She released a Christmas album called A Christmas Cornucopia. It included traditional Christmas songs and one new song, "Universal Child". Critics gave the album good reviews.
On 4 June 2012, Annie Lennox performed at the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Concert in London. On 12 August, she performed "Little Bird" at the 2012 Summer Olympics Closing Ceremony.
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In October 2014, she released her sixth solo album, Nostalgia. This album was a collection of her favorite soul, jazz, and blues songs from her childhood. The album reached the top 10 in the UK and US. It was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album. In 2015, she performed a live concert called An Evening of Nostalgia with Annie Lennox.
In May 2019, Annie Lennox released Lepidoptera. This EP had four piano songs. Since 2019, she has reunited with Dave Stewart for Eurythmics performances. They performed at a benefit concert in 2019. In 2022, they performed at their Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony.
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In 2024, she performed at the Gershwin Prize for Popular Song Tribute Concert. This concert honored Elton John and Bernie Taupin. Her time as chancellor of Glasgow Caledonian University ended in mid-2024. A building at the university was renamed the Annie Lennox Building in her honor. In January 2025, she volunteered to deliver food for a charity in Los Angeles during the 2025 California wildfires.
In March 2025, Annie Lennox performed her first live show in six years at the Royal Albert Hall. The show was called Sisters: Annie Lennox and Friends. It celebrated International Women’s Day. Other female performers joined her on stage. In the same month, she spoke about proposed budget cuts by the UK Prime Minister. She said that cuts to foreign aid would affect everyone. In 2025, her 1995 song ""No More 'I Love You's" " was featured in an episode of the American thriller series Good American Family.
Music Videos
Annie Lennox has made over 60 music videos. This includes videos for Eurythmics and her solo career.
The video accompanying "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)", in which Annie Lennox appeared with closely cropped orange hair and wearing a man's business suit, was both striking and surreal. Lennox's extraordinary image was at odds with her female contemporaries.
The Eurythmics album Savage (1987) and her solo album Diva (1992) both had video albums. These were directed by Sophie Muller. The video for "Missionary Man" used stop-animation. It received five nominations at the 1987 MTV Video Music Awards.
Actors Hugh Laurie and John Malkovich appeared in the video for "Walking on Broken Glass". The video for "Little Bird" showed different looks and characters from Lennox's past videos. It featured Lennox performing with several lookalikes. These lookalikes represented her from videos like "Why", "Sweet Dreams", and "There Must Be an Angel (Playing with My Heart)".
Personal Life
Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart were in a relationship before they formed Eurythmics. She has been married three times.
Her first marriage was from 1984 to 1985 to Radha Raman. From 1988 to 2000, she was married to Israeli film producer Uri Fruchtmann. They have two daughters, Lola and Tali.
In 2009, Annie Lennox met Mitch Besser while fundraising. He had started an AIDS charity in Africa. They married on 15 September 2012 in London. Mitch Besser is the brother of medical doctor Richard E. Besser.
In 2012, Annie Lennox appeared on the BBC show Who Do You Think You Are?. She learned that her great-great-grandmother worked at a flax mill in Aberdeen. Her maternal grandmother was a dairy maid at the Balmoral Royal Estate. Her maternal grandfather was a gamekeeper there.
Both of Annie Lennox's parents passed away from cancer. She became a vegetarian at age 29. In 2010, it was estimated that she had a fortune of £30 million.
Discography
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Awards and Recognition
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Annie Lennox has been called "The Greatest White Soul Singer Alive" by VH1. Rolling Stone magazine named her one of The 100 Greatest Singers of All Time. In 2012, VH1 ranked her No. 22 on their list of 100 Greatest Women in Music. By June 2013, the Official Charts Company called her "the most successful female British artist in UK music history". As of June 2008, she had sold over 80 million records worldwide. This includes her work with Eurythmics.
She performed "Little Bird" at the 2012 Summer Olympics closing ceremony in London. In 2015, she became the first woman to be made a fellow of the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors. She is also a Fellow of the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama. In 2020, Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. In 2022, they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Annie Lennox has won many major awards. She has eight Brit Awards. She has been named Best British Female Artist a record six times. She has also won four Grammy Awards and an MTV Video Music Award. In 2002, she received a Billboard Century Award from Billboard magazine. In 2004, she won a Golden Globe and an Academy Award for Best Original Song. These were for "Into the West" from The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.
As a member of Eurythmics, she won the MTV Video Music Award for Best New Artist in 1984. They won a Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal in 1987. They also received the Brit Award for Outstanding Contribution to Music in 1999. Eurythmics was inducted into the UK Music Hall of Fame in 2005. They were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2020. And they joined the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2022.
See also
In Spanish: Annie Lennox para niños
