Quote Of The Day By Annie Lennox: 'When I Lost My First Baby ...'

Known as much for her tireless activism as her music, Scottish singer-songwriter Annie Lennox has always charted her own path throughout her life and career. A lover of music as a child, she dropped out of London's Royal Academy of Music – much to her parents' dismay — a decision that led to a fateful encounter with Dave Stewart in 1975. Together, they would form a lesser-known band called the Tourists, followed by the Eurythmics, scoring a slew of hits including "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)" and "Here Comes the Rain Again."

When Lennox and Stewart parted ways in 1990, she went on to build a hugely successful solo career, winning multiple Grammy Awards, a Golden Globe, and an Oscar. At the same time, Lennox put issues such as AIDS research and human rights in the spotlight, and in 2008 she founded The Circle, a women-led organization fighting gender-based violence. In 2022, Lennox and Stewart — as the Eurythmics — were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, alongside the legendary Dolly Parton, who died in August 2026. Amid all her success, Lennox has witnessed the sharp end of life, and that's why she's today's quote of the day.

"When I lost my first baby, I experienced a taste of just how low people can go."

Annie Lennox's devastating quote was part of a wide-ranging 2010 interview with The Guardian, which explored her life and career. Lennox said, "I'd lost a baby and people were trying to get into the hospital to get interviews. That's disgusting. It was just loathsome. I said to myself: 'I'm going to protect this family of mine. I'm not having this life.'"

The comment offered a heartbreaking glimpse into an unthinkable intrusion the singer endured at one of the lowest points in her life, simply because she was famous.

Celebrity often comes at a price, and while many of us think we'd be happy to pay it to enjoy the spotlight, Annie Lennox drew an uncrossable line in the sand when it came to her family. She understands to this day the power of her profile as an artist, and how that can be used as a force for good. But, as the follow-up to her quote reveals, not every part of her life is for public consumption, and woe betide anyone who tries to blur the two.

It's a good lesson for two reasons. First, it reminds us as fans that the people we admire, no matter how high they may fly, are still human, and thus worthy of our kindness and respect. Second, Lennox's experience is a timely reminder of what's really important. The spotlight may move on, but those we truly love never will.

• "I'm very well-behaved. Until I'm not!"

• "I think when I'm performing the songs that we wrote and I wrote, I'm actually being me, you know, really at the core, at soul level, that is very much who I am. It's not the average person that you sort of sit and have a coffee with or, or have a conversation with. It's not."

• This thing of fame and exceptionalism can be very, very destructive. I think it's such a powerful force that people actually almost sell their souls in a way."

• "Music's invisible. Ideas are invisible. They have to be manifest in some way. And so, it starts with an idea. It just starts with one idea."

• "I work very intuitively. I've always been someone that picks up on things by ear, you know. I respond to things in a spontaneous way. I never have a game plan. I don't think there's a formula. You can't sit and sweat it. You just hope it will come."

• "I'm shocked at how things are not resolved, that we can't come to a better place of compassion and understanding, that we're so limited and we're so bigoted."

• "We're so interesting because we're everything and nothing at the same time. All of us."