"I have three girls, and I say the same thing to them. I'm not involved in their careers because I've learned that it's important for them to stand on their own two feet. They'll feel better and prouder of themselves if they do"
About this Quote
Diana Ross is doing something subtler than dispensing parental advice: she’s rewriting the script of celebrity inheritance in real time. Coming from a woman whose name alone can open doors, the line “I’m not involved in their careers” lands as both boundary and brand statement. It rejects the familiar nepotism fantasy - the all-access pass - and replaces it with a harder promise: confidence earned without mom as the backstage credential.
The intent is protective but also strategic. Ross frames noninvolvement as love, not neglect, turning absence into a gift. The subtext is that proximity to her fame is as dangerous as it is useful. For children of icons, the quickest success can feel like an accusation: you didn’t build this, you inherited it. “Stand on their own two feet” isn’t just a moral ideal; it’s reputational armor. It anticipates the world’s cynicism and preemptively answers it: if they thrive, it’s theirs.
There’s also a generational read here. Ross came up in an era when Black women in entertainment were expected to be flawless, disciplined, and self-made just to stay in the room. That history informs the tough tenderness of her approach: pride is not a sentiment, it’s a survival skill. The quote works because it admits the temptation to intervene while insisting that dignity, especially under a famous shadow, has to be self-authored.
The intent is protective but also strategic. Ross frames noninvolvement as love, not neglect, turning absence into a gift. The subtext is that proximity to her fame is as dangerous as it is useful. For children of icons, the quickest success can feel like an accusation: you didn’t build this, you inherited it. “Stand on their own two feet” isn’t just a moral ideal; it’s reputational armor. It anticipates the world’s cynicism and preemptively answers it: if they thrive, it’s theirs.
There’s also a generational read here. Ross came up in an era when Black women in entertainment were expected to be flawless, disciplined, and self-made just to stay in the room. That history informs the tough tenderness of her approach: pride is not a sentiment, it’s a survival skill. The quote works because it admits the temptation to intervene while insisting that dignity, especially under a famous shadow, has to be self-authored.
Quote Details
| Topic | Daughter |
|---|
More Quotes by Diana
Add to List
