Diana Ross appeared on Bravo TV’s Inside The Actors Studio on Monday and with host James Lipton, reflected on the way life used to be. Although she is an Academy Award-nominated actress for "Lady Sings the Blues," Ross has made only five movies. And since this was a two-hour show, there was much discussion of her legendary music career.
Here are some excerpts:
ON HOW SHE GOT INVOLVED WITH THE PRIMETTES: "Florence Ballard and Mary Wilson, they wanted to put together a girls group and they came and asked my parents if I would sing with the Primettes. They heard I could sing and asked if I would sing with the group."
ON BECOMING THE SUPREMES: "They were trying to find names that were really catchy, they asked us to go away and come up with something other than the Primettes because they didn't think that had the right ring to it. Florence [Ballard] was the one who came back with the name The Supremes.
ON BERRY GORDY BEING A MENTOR: "He was the person who gave everyone inspirations. I wouldn't be here today if he didn't believe in me. Not only as a performer but also as an actress"
ON FINDING FAME AT A YOUNG AGE: "I don't think we ever tried to figure out how many records we were selling. It was just something you never really imagined was going to happen to your life."
ON BERRY GORDY'S PROFESSIONAL FOCUS ON DIANA ROSS: "As time went on it was expressed that it did put a strain on the group. At the time I didn't think that it did. I felt like we were all growing in different directions. I don't really know if it was Berry's focus on me, I think it was just time, it was part of growing."
ON LEAVING THE SUPREMES TO PERSUE HER SOLO CAREER: "It was like stepping into the darkness, not knowing really if it was the right thing to do or not."
ON PREPARING FOR THE ROLE OF BILLIE HOLIDAY IN "LADY SINGS THE BLUES": "I read a lot, I watched everything I could about Billie Holiday. No one taught me this. I had to learn this all on my own. All I listened to was Billie Holiday so it just became a part of me like osmosis or something."
ON HER CAREER TODAY: "The record industry is changing so much. They don't have time for veteran artists. And I guess that's the way it is, we are supposed to move over for the younger artists. But I think that until they drag me off the stage, I want to continue!"