Rapper and singer Lisa Lopes, perhaps better known for her stage name Left Eye, was born on May 27, 1971 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Though not a whole lot is known about her childhood it is known that she came from an abusive, alcoholic family and suffered from alcohol addiction herself, all things she readily admitted to.

Lopes entered the entertainment scene alongside two fellow entertainers, Tionne Watkins and Crystal Jones. They were gathered by Jones who had the intention of creating a girl group named Second Nature. Watkins and Lopes answered, thought he name Second Nature didn’t last long – rather they changed their band’s name to TLC, an amalgam of the first letter of each of their names.

Ironically enough, however, Jones was deemed insufficient by their new manager, Perri Reid, who brought in a different member to replace Jones. This was Rozonda Thomas. Since her name didn’t fit the TLC schema, however, Thomas, took on the nickname ‘Chilli’. The other two girls took on similar names, with Watkins as T-Boz and Lopes as Left Eye. She chose the name as she’d been told her left eye was particularly beautiful. She would play on this name by wearing glasses with a condom over her left eye, which was also a promotion for safe sex. The condom would later change to a mere black stripe underlining the eye.

TLC first appeared on the entertainment scene with their debut album Ooooooohhh… On the TLC Tip in 1992, which proved an immeasurable success, with three singles and 6 million copies sold. They took a break for a few years and then released CrazySexyCool, which was even more popular than their first album. Their 1999 follow up album, Fanmail, was not quite as successful but was still a huge hit, and was a tribute to TLC fans around the world.

Things were not going well behind the scenes, however, as Lopes increasingly found herself squabbling with her band mates and support crew. While making Fanmail Lopes issued a challenge to the other two girls, proposing that they each release a solo album and see which member was best liked by the public. The Challenge would have been a three-CD set with work by each girl, though nothing came of it in the end. Needless to say the situation didn’t improve between the three.

Lopes embarked on a solo career soon after Fanmail was released, featuring in as a rapper on singles by other artists. She also began appearing in commercials for The Gap and appeared in an MTV series called The Cut that was cancelled soon after its premiere. She also established her own recording and production company to help up-and-coming talent get established in the music industry.

Lopes was the victim of personal problems, however, and in 1994 she set fire to boyfriend Andrew Rison’s mansion, though originally she’d just been setting fire to his tennis shoes in retaliation for his infidelities. Rison is alleged to have been abusive to Lopes throughout their relationship.

Despite her problems Lopes managed to endure, however, and by 2002 she was not only working on a new TLC album but her second solo effort. Unfortunately fate had other plans, and she was killed in a car accident that threw her from her car. She was only 30 years old.