Somewhere Over the Rainbow is one of the most popular feel-good songs, not just because of the uplifting lyrics but mainly because of the singer’s angelic voice.
Israel Kaʻanoʻi Kamakawiwoʻole, or Braddah IZ, fascinated fans with his pure voice, accompanied by the ukulele. But this ethereal voice hid the struggles the Voice of Hawaii faced throughout his life.
Nevertheless, he always had his guardian angel, Marlene Kamakawiwoʻole, to support him during the darkest times. So, who is she? What is she up to now? Let’s read this article to find out.
Who is Marlene Kamakawiwoʻole?
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Marlene Kamakawiwo’ole’s name is a unique one, mainly because it’s associated with one of the most famous singers, Israel Kamakawiwoʻole. But there’s more to this beautiful and resilient lady than being married to the legendary singer.
Born as Marlene Ah Lo in 1962, she was three years younger than her soon-to-be husband. Just like him, she was also born in Honolulu, but there’s no information regarding her parents or siblings.
No one knows for sure anything about her ancestry or faith. Yet, she is probably a born-again Christian like him, as her husband decided to renew his faith in the 1990s. This is the faith the couple practiced before Israel’s tragic death.
Unlike her late husband, Marlene maintained a healthy weight-to-height ratio. She allegedly weighs 143 pounds and is 5 feet 6 inches tall with captivating brown eyes and hair. Marlene’s features suggest a Polynesian ancestry, although she never publicly shared her origins.
Marlene graduated high school and is fluent in native Hawaiian and English. However, nobody knows if she graduated from university. It’s highly unlikely, since she married at a young age, and had her daughter only a short time after getting married.
Nevertheless, some sources mentioned that she had a part-time job at the cardiology department of Kaiser Permanente’s Moanalua Medical Center. We don’t think that Marlene worked as part of the medical staff, so she probably had an administrative job that allowed her to focus on her family life.
How Did Marlene Meet Her Husband?
Israel never shared a detailed account of how he met his wife, but it’s well known that she’s his childhood sweetheart. This means she’s been with him way before he began to dazzle his fans with his voice.
After marrying the late singer, Marlene decided to take his last name. This is her current legal name, decades after he husband’s death.
Marrying Israel Kamakawiwoʻole
Iz, as his friends and fans called him, was a native Hawaiian singer and musician born in 1959, and his hit song spent 358 weeks as the number one track on the World Digital Songs chart, longer than any other song. He started playing music and singing as a child, usually accompanied by his brother.
This is probably the time he met his future wife, Marlene. He formed a band with his brother, Skippy, and some of his friends and achieved some success until his brother passed away.
Skippy’s death was shocking and made Israel question the meaning of life. Feeling that life is short, he decided to marry his one and only, Marlene, and they tied the knot in 1982.
Marlene was only 20 at the time of the wedding, but the couple seemed so much in love. They had a cozy wedding, which was attended by friends and family members. They all knew of their love story and felt happy to see them together. A year later, Israel and Marlene had their daughter, Ceslie-Ann “Wehi” Kamakawiwoʻole, in 1983.
After becoming a parent, Iz focused on his music career and released several albums. He also won multiple awards.
His wife took care of their only child and ensured Israel felt comfortable at home so he could focus on making the music he loved. He felt grateful for having such a supportive partner in his life, and everyone could feel Marlene’s impact on his emotional and mental well-being.
In 1988, Iz decided to perform a remake of the famous 1939 Over the Rainbow, which was featured in The Wizard of Oz. The iconic song was recorded in a single take, and no one knew that it would be a hit years later.
The song went unnoticed until it was used in a TV commercial in 1999. After that, it was included in several movies like Meet Joe Black, 50 First Dates, and Son of the Mask, and TV shows like ER, Scrubs, Glee, South Pacific, and Modern Family. Unfortunately, Iz’s most well-known song achieved all this success years after he passed away.
Israel Kamakawiwoʻole’s Death
Iz struggled with his weight all his life. At one point, he weighed 757 pounds and faced several health complications.
He was hospitalized multiple times because of respiratory and cardiac issues, and his wife was always by his side. However, Israel died of respiratory failure in June 1997. He was 38 years old at the time of his death.
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What Happened to Marlene Kamakawiwoʻole?
Israel and Marlene were married for 15 years, but she always spoke of how much she loved her husband. The couple enjoyed every day of their life together, and those around them knew they had genuine feelings for one another.
Marlene knew Israel before he became famous and supported him through thick and thin. Although she received royalties for the songs her husband performed, she never cared about the money. Some people even think that the volcanos in the short movie, Lava, were based on the love story of Israel and his wife, Marlene.
At some point, there were rumors regarding their marriage, as some people said she probably married the famous singer for the money. But this can’t be true in Marlene’s case because she has been in love with Israel since they were both kids. At this time, she didn’t have any idea what he would do with his life.
She even retreated from the spotlights after his death. She wasn’t seen attending any public events, and people almost forgot about her. Nevertheless, she was spotted once on September 20, 2003, when a bronze bust of her late husband was unveiled at the Waianae Neighborhood Community Center.
After that, nobody heard about her, and it seemed that everyone had forgotten about her.
Yet, when her daughter posted pictures of her five children and mother, people began to wonder what happened to the famous Hawaiian singer’s widow.
Where is Marlene Kamakawiwoʻole Now?
Despite being widowed at a young age, Marlene decided not to get married again. She devoted her life to raising her only child, and people began to forget about her existence, even though her husband’s legacy still lives.
Nowadays, Marlene is happy being a grandma and often spends time with her five grandchildren. Elija and Kiara Parker, her grandchildren, are passionate about music, and their favorite instrument is the ukelele, just like their grandfather. We can only imagine the joy seeing them brings to Israel’s widow and true love.
Ceslie-Anne, Israel’s daughter, always felt that it was fascinating that her kids share something with their grandpa, whom they never met. She admitted that she never had a thing for musical instruments, but it was magical that her kids fell in love with the very same instrument their grandpa loved so much.
Marlene reportedly lives in Pearl City with her daughter and her grandchildren. She doesn’t have any social media accounts, and there’s no clear information about her business ventures. But she has a net worth of about $3 million, gained from the royalties of her husband’s songs.
Wrap Up
Marlene Kamakawiwoʻole is the widow of the late Hawaiian singer Israel Kamakawiwoʻole and his one true love. They both met when they were children and married when Marlene was 20 years old.
They remained married until Israel died when he was only 38 years old. Marlene was shocked because she lost the man she had always loved. She hasn’t married since then.
Marlene has one daughter and five grandchildren. She isn’t active on social media platforms and people seemed to have forgotten all about her.
Yet, recently, her daughter and grandchildren started posting some family pictures and she was spotted in some of them. She lives happily with her family in Pearl City and prefers to stay away from the spotlights.
Featured image source: Twitter
