Lisa Lopes

About Lisa Lopes

Lisa Nicole Lopes, better known by her stage name Left Eye, was an American rapper and singer. She was a member of the R&B girl group TLC, alongside Tionne Watkins (aka T-Boz) and Rozonda Thomas (aka Chilli). Besides rapping and singing on TLC recordings, Lopes was the creative force behind the group, receiving more co-writing credits than the other members. She also designed some of their outfits and the stage for their FanMail Tour and contributed to the group's image, album titles, artworks, and music videos. Through her work with TLC, Lopes won four Grammy Awards.

During her brief solo career, Lopes scored two US top 10 singles with "Not Tonight" and "U Know What's Up", as well as one UK number-one single with "Never Be the Same Again", the latter a collaboration with Melanie Chisholm (aka Mel C, or Sporty Spice) of the British girl group Spice Girls. She also produced another girl group, Blaque, who scored a Platinum album and two US top 10 hits. Lopes remains the only member of TLC to have released a solo album.

Lopes was in an on and off relationship with former NFL wide receiver Andre Rison from 1993 to 2001. Their relationship was rocky, marked with domestic violence allegations. During one altercation in 1994, Lopes lit his shoes on fire in the bathtub, burning his house down; she was charged with first-degree arson. She was sentenced to five years of probation for the crime.

On April 25, 2002, Lopes was killed in a car crash in Roma, Jutiapa, Honduras, while volunteering at a children’s development center. Lopes was speeding and lost control of her rental SUV. Four other passengers were injured enough to require hospitalization. The documentary The Last Days of Left Eye was released and aired on VH1 in May 2007.