American singer, the top-selling singing star in U.S, recording history, starting when she was 17 with her first MGM recording contract. In 1957 she recorded her first big hit, “Who’s Sorry Now?” and in the next seven years, had 16 hit singles. She went on to become the queen of the record industry.
Emotionally tied to her old-school Italian father’s domination, she went through four marriages that included a record of abuse and eventually a nervous breakdown.
After a performance on 11/08/1974, she was raped and beaten by a young black male with a knife at her throat. She went into seven years of seclusion. After an operation to correct postnasal drip in 1977, she lost her voice for four years.
Her brother was murdered gangland style on March 6, 1981. With increasing depressions, she was committed to a mental hospital by her father in October, 1983 in Palm Beach, Florida. Released 11/11/1983, she attempted suicide with pills in February 1984. She was committed two more times and diagnosed manic-depressive.
On 5/10/1985 she met a man and married him six weeks later, 6/27/85. Following a hotel disturbance a year later, she was taken to a mental hospital, declared incompetent by a Florida judge and a legal guardian was appointed in March 1986.
Her autobiography, “Who’s Sorry Now” was published in 1985. A survivor, she kept coming back to the adulation and appreciation of her fans. Still a popular show-stopper on the night-club circuit, she has an elegant town house in West Orange, NJ. Only 5’2″, her weight fluctuated, reaching 175 lbs in 1996.
Link to Wikipedia biography