INTRODUCTION

HER STORY

QUOTES

Said of Berry Gordy that he was, "... at times my surrogate father, at other times my controller and slave driver."

During the recording of the song We Are The World, Diana asked Tina Turner for an autograph.

Once, Diana was performing in Atlantic City, an errand boy who had gotten her a pizza, excitedly said, "Diana, it's such an honor to serve you," and she responded, "Please, call me Miss Ross!"

She regrets never having gone to college but made sure her girls did. Rhonda and Tracee went to Brown, while Chudney went to Georgetown.

In the late 70's, Diana's then husband, Bob Ellis, was manager of singer Chaka Khan, and Diana cheekily had fun dabbling with Chaka's career.

Diana said "no" to VH1 Divas Live 98 & 99, but then the producers came to their senses and realized if they were ever going to get her on their show, it would have to be a tribute focusing on HER. Executives and producers alike agreed. So did Miss Ross.

Hates the word "ensemble." She prefers being the star of a production. So producers offered Michelle Pfeiffer the role in Witches of Eastwick.

During the 80's Diana enjoyed performing in Las Vegas. One evening she drove past the Caesar's Palace marquee and to her horror it read, "Presenting Miss Diana Ross... and next week Sheena Easton." Diana gave the management hell, and while her audience was waiting she walked out through the casino and unto the street - in her Bob Mackie gown - simply to confirm that the name Sheena Easton had been removed.

In the mid 80's a producer was in talks with Diana, Liza Minnelli and Barbra Streisand to star in a movie called Jazz Babies but the project never took off.

During the early 80's she rented the Vegas house of Steve Wynn, owner of the casino/hotel Golden Nuggets. Steve had pictures of beautiful singer (and Diana look-alike)  Lola Falana all over his house, and wondered what Diana might think of that. Surprisingly, when Steve returned, Lola's pictures were all in place, except they were turned, so that they faced the wall.

When then Doubleday book publisher and former first lady Jackie Onassis set up a meeting with Diana to publish her autobio, she asked her what type of story she wanted to tell. Diana responded, "I want an autobiography without revealing any personal information whatsoever." Jackie O sighed.

When Jackie O phoned Diana's management office, Diana told her secretary, "Tell Jackie to hold, I'm busy." She was smarting and grinning over the power she had, of putting a former first lady on hold.

Michael Jackson wrote and produced the 1982 top 10 hit song Muscles for Diana. However, in the studio he revered and was intimidated by her and was reluctant to direct Miss Ross. Diana told him, "Michael, you're the man, you're the boss on this one." And Michael sheepishly replied, "... but Diane, I just can't tell you what to do!"

While filming the 1975 film Mahogany in Rome, director Berry Gordy kept pushing a pregnant Diana for take after take, but she had had enough and slapped Berry so hard his glasses flew across the room, stormed into her trailer with assistants in tow, and jumped on the next flight to Los Angeles. A body double had to complete her scenes.

She recently visited her daughter Tracee Ross on the set of the UPN comedy Girlfriends along with her boys Ross and Evan.  They sat in the audience and cheered wildly when Tracee was introduced.

In 1986, during his Diana obsessed phase and before his Liz infatuation, Michael Jackson visited Diana backstage in Las Vegas. When Diana excused herself and returned to her dressing room, she found Michael in front of her mirror, putting on her makeup slowly transforming himself into Miss Ross. Diana said, "Michael, what are u doing? Stop that!" Michael replied, "... but it's magic, Diane!"

Nicknames include "Blackie" from Berry Gordy and "Supreme Diva", "Queen of Motown" from press and media.

In the '70's Natalie Cole visited Diana backstage and started playing her piano, getting applause from Diana's crew, prompting Diana to tell her assistant, "Get that woman off my piano!"

While doing the music video for Muscles written by Michael Jackson, Diana was puzzled as to Michael's new plastic surgery procedure, and asked an aide, "For God's sake what is this boy doing to himself?"  The aide replied, "They say he's trying to look like you miss Ross?"  With disdain she replied, "I look like THAT?!"

Diana decided to name her third child after the spicy fruit relish, chutney. She misspelled the word on the birth certificate which is how her daughter ended up with the odd name Chudney.

Ross first found fame as part of, and eventually the front woman for, The Supremes. Reaching the tops of the US charts a dozen times, they're ranked second only to the Beatles (20 times) for number of No. 1 hits achieved by a duo or group.

After Diana's mother died in 1984, Julio Iglesias didn't want her to have a lonely Christmas. He says that he and Diana spent the holiday together.

Diana told friends she wanted to marry Ryan O'Neal. But after their brief romance in 1979, he said of her, "Diana Ross doesn't want to show her body, doesn't want to do sex scenes on the screen and doesn't want to be black."

Diana's mother Ernestine had intended that her daughter be named 'Diane' but through a clerical error, the name 'Diana' appeared on the official certificate. Her father Fred said that he didn't care what name was on the certificate. His daughter's name was Diane and that's what her friends and family would always call her.

It was widely reported at the time she lost the Oscar for Lady Sings the Blues, that she lost because of her shameless campaign to win, with full page newspaper ads and billboards.

In the summer of 1969, Berry Gordy claimed that Diana Ross discovered the Jacksons Five, even though she hadn't, in order to boost the new Motown group's popularity.

Diana and Arne asked Swedish Princess Christina, the sister of King Gustav, and her commoner husband, Tord Nagusson, to become Evan's godparents. Princess Christina and Filippa - Arne's first wife - have been best friends since they were young girls. For Arne and Diana to ask Christina to be their child's godmother seemed rather insensitive to Filippa's feelings. But for whatever reason, Christina agreed to be Evan's godmother.

She has 5 children altogether. There was a daughter by Berry Gordy born in August of 1970, then another fathered by Robert Silberstein in 1972, then another girl also fathered by Robert Silberstein in 1975. Then years later a son was born to her in 1987 fathered by Arne Naess, and the final child - another boy - was born to Diana in 1988, also fathered by Naess. The kids are as follows: Rhonda Suzanne, Tracee joy, Chudney Lane, Ross Arne, and Evan.

Before Diana Ross was signed to Motown as an artist, she worked for Berry Gordy as a secretary. Other experiences before she joined the Motown family included a job in a department store and going to modeling school.

Was arrested and taken off her Concorde flight for assaulting a female security officer at London Heathrow airport.

Diana tested tempers at the BBC. The corporation had been excitedly planning a 'divas night' for its National Lottery show, featuring rock's holy troika of Ross, Cher and Tina Turner. But when Ross discovered she would be given equal billing with her rivals on the show she dug her high heels in, refused to share the stage and insisted on pre-recording.

When she turned up at the funeral of Florence Ballard, the Supreme who was fired for being too fat, drunk and missing performances and who descended into alcoholism and poverty, she made a grand entrance, to boos from onlookers, and was criticized by other mourners for turning the event into a show.

Diana has always measured herself against Barbra Streisand. She would rather be Barbra Streisand than anyone else in the world. Once, when asked about her idol, she had to admit that she had only admired her from afar because Barbra gives the impression of 'being untouchable'. The two of them have been at the same cocktail parties, but have only made eye contact and have never had a full conversation. She could never handle a social encounter with Streisand. She would be too jumpy, nervous and intimidated.