Diana Ross taught her children the importance of always having time for others.

Diana Ross

Diana Ross

The pop songstress' daughter Tracee Ellis Ross says her mother will pick up the phone in the middle of the night if need be and has shown her how crucial it is to be there for people when they need you the most.

She said: "I have never heard my mom say, 'Not now - I don't have time.' Even now, in the middle of the night, my mom will answer the telephone. It's incredible to know you are loved in a way that somebody is there for you. That's something that I have used in my relationships with friends. My friends know: My home phone ringer doesn't turn off. You need me in the middle of the night? I am your girl. I will bring you to the hospital. I will call you if you are frightened."

And Tracee is glad her mother brought her up to be "sex-positive" and to "own" her sexuality.

She added to the February issue of Glamour magazine: "My mom Diana is a sexy woman - that is part of her persona - and that is a delicious thing that has never felt scary to me. Recently I learned this wonderful term, sex-positive, and that is the way I feel. [For me] the answer to the objectification of women and black women in our culture is not to shut down my sexuality but to own it as something that is mine."


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