Carnie Wilson
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Carnie Wilson (born April 29, 1968 in Bel Air, California) is an American singer and television host, best known as a member of the early 1990s singing group Wilson Phillips. Then noted as morbidly obese, she had gastric bypass/bariatric surgery and lost some of her weight.
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[edit] Musical career
The daughter of American 1960s pop icon Brian Wilson and his first wife Marilyn Rovell, she co-founded Wilson Phillips with her younger sister Wendy and childhood friend Chynna Phillips when they were in their teens. They released two albums, Wilson Phillips and Shadows and Light and had six top 20 singles before breaking up in 1993.
Carnie & Wendy Wilson continued to record together, releasing the Christmas album Hey Santa! in 1993, and they joined with their father for a critically successful (yet commercially unsuccessful) 1997 album, The Wilsons.
In 2003, Carnie attempted to launch a solo music career with the album For the First Time. The album featured a remake of the Diane Warren penned Samantha Mumba ballad "Don't Need You To (Tell Me I'm Pretty)", retitled "I Don't Need You To", as its first single. However, the single failed to gain interest and the album was ultimately shelved when Carnie regrouped with Wendy and Chynna as Wilson Phillips in 2004.
Reunited, the band released a third album, named California, which appeared on Sony Music's record label. The album featured cover songs primarily from the 1960s and 1970s, and specifically highlights the musical glory days of their parents' California-based musical groups: The Mamas & The Papas and the Beach Boys.
In 2006, she finally launched her solo career, with an album of lullabies, A Mother's Gift: Lullabies from the Heart, created shortly after the birth of her daughter Lola.
She released her second solo effort in October 2007, a Christmas album entitled Christmas with Carnie, featuring a song written by her husband, "Warm Lovin' Christmastime".
[edit] Television career
From 1995-1996, Carnie hosted her own short-lived syndicated television talk show Carnie!. The series was launched during the mid 1990's wave of popularity in "tabloid" talk shows, which followed the sudden successes of Ricki Lake and Jerry Springer.
She later guest-starred on episodes of That 70s Show in 2001 and Sabrina, the Teenage Witch before joining the fourth season of the VH1 reality show Celebrity Fit Club in 2006.
Wilson has also been a correspondent on Entertainment Tonight and in 2006 hosted a special on E! entitled 101 Celebrity Slimdowns. Wilson became a cast member of the CMT series Gone Country in 2008.
In 2008 Wilson participated as a contestant on VH-1's Celebracadabra and was eliminated in the first round.
[edit] Weight problems
Wilson has had a lifelong problem with obesity and during her Wilson Phillips fame, she reached a lifetime weight peak of almost 300 lb on her 5'3" frame. Her weight led her to be parodied on Saturday Night Live by Chris Farley and also publicly mocked by Howard Stern. In addition, she was frequently pushed to the background of most of Wilson Phillips' music videos behind the much slimmer Wendy and Chynna.
Dieting was ineffective; she lost weight only to regain it later. In August 1999, she underwent gastric bypass surgery, which she felt was a life-saving decision. The procedure was broadcast live on the internet. As a result, she went from a size 28 to a size 6 and lost 150 pounds. In 2003 she posed for Playboy to display her new body. Carnie later toured TV talk shows and hosted her own infomercial to publicize her satisfaction with the procedure. However, she eventually gained back some weight and ended up as a contestant on the fourth season of VH1's Celebrity Fit Club in 2006. She lost 22 pounds over the course of the show.
[edit] Personal life
- Wilson married Rob Bonfiglio in 2000. In April 2005 they welcomed their first daughter, Lola Sofia Bonfiglio.
- She has publicly acknowledged having a lesbian experience in her teens.[1]
[edit] References
- ^ Either Sex Suits Lots of Stars at New York Post (November 18, 2006)
