Entertainment Shorts

Alicia Keys’ mother encouraged her to speak her mind

Alicia Keys says her mother “empowered” her to be brave.

The Girl on Fire hitmaker believes she is “not afraid” to speak her mind because of what Teresa Augello, her mom – who was a single mother – taught her growing up.

While at the iHeart Radio SeeHer Hear Her: Celebrating Women Who Make Music and Culture, the 41-year-old singer said: “I love how she empowered me to be a strong woman who has an opinion, who’s not afraid to say it.”

While reflecting at the event to mark International Women’s Day, Keys also paid tribute to her grandmother, who “mentored me in a way of how to treat people, how to love people, how to be kind and thoughtful to people”, and revealed that her professional mentor is none other than Mary J Blige.

The Grammy Award winner – who shares her two sons Egypt, 11, and Genesis, seven, with her husband Swizz Beatz, 43 – thinks that these life lessons helped her “prove herself” in the music industry.

Keys said: “Nobody was expecting me to be so clear about what I wanted and what I didn’t want, and to be so involved and completely be the producer of my music, the writer of my music,” she recalled “… I was gonna prove myself, no matter what it took.”

The If I Ain’t Got You hitmaker advises that aspiring creatives to remember “the reason why” they want what they want.

Keys said: “I think what you can’t forget is you’re the reason why.”

She added: “Don’t let people doubt you. Don’t let people make you doubt yourself. … The world is created for us to follow, and somebody gotta lead.”

Keys also acknowledged other sources of inspiration, namely Stevie Wonder, who gave her the mantra “make sure you’re in it, but not of it” from his 1976 song As, which she says “saved her” throughout her career.

She said that it can all be “phony, to a degree, because it’s all based on what the external is as opposed to the internal. So, I took that and really ran with it. ‘Make sure you’re in it, but not of it.’ That saved me.”

Kerry Washington inspired by daughter to ‘do more’ for women

Kerry Washington says being a “girl mom” makes her want to be “better”.

The Scandal star has encouraged her 22-month-old daughter Isabelle – who she shares with with her NFL player husband Nnamdi Asomugha, 40 – to “do more” for the advancement of women in society.

Before receiving an honour at the TIME Women of Year Gala on International Women’s Day, the 45-year-old actress told Entertainment Tonight: “I do think being a ‘girl mom’ makes you think about these issues in a different way. They just make me want to do more and better and be there for them.”

Washington – who also has five-year-old son Caleb – also labelled the recognition from the magazine as “surreal” and lamented being acknowledged alongside “heroes” of hers.

She said: “It’s very surreal. “I’m thrilled to be able to be here, being honoured with women who are heroes of mine, and who are doing extraordinary work, and to amplify their work and just sort of cheer each other on. There’s so much work to do to make this world a better place, so it’s really thrilling to be able to celebrate some women who are working towards that.”

The Little Fires Everywhere star called her series of Instagram photos of her dressed as “important” black women – such as civil rights activist Rosa Parks and artist Katherine Dunham – throughout history “a really fun way” to mark Black History Month.

Washington said: “We just wanted to find a really fun way to celebrate really important women in history. Black History Month is such an important time of year, but we wanted to put the focus on black women by making it ‘herstory,’ but also, we continued in March ‘cause it’s still Women’s History Month and also, black history, for me, is 365 days a year.”

Washington plans to keep adding to it as “there’s never a day that black history doesn’t matter so, we just wanted to make it an ongoing series in celebration of important black women who have really transformed the history of this country and the world.”

Little Mix’s Leigh-Anne Pinnock penning book

Leigh-Anne Pinnock is writing a book.

The 30-year-old singer – who has six-month-old twins with fiancé Andre Gray – has a number of projects in the pipeline for when Little Mix go their separate ways after their farewell tour this year, but she is most “passionate” about the tome she is planning to write, which will focus on identity and her own experiences, expanding on the topics covered in her BBC Three documentary Race, Pop and Power.

Pinnock is currently negotiating with several publishing houses over the rights to her memoir.

A source told The Sun newspaper’s Bizarre column: “This is stuff she’s passionate about – it isn’t going to be an expose on life in a pop band, more an insight into her feelings about who she has become in that time, what she stands for and what she believes in.

“The reaction to her documentary really spurred Leigh-Anne to want to do more. She knows her platform can help other people, too, and she wants to represent as many young women like her as she can. This is about stepping out from a band and defining who she is going to be as an independent woman and as an artistee going forward. She’s very excited at the prospect of working on it and getting it out to fans.”

The Black Magic hitmaker is said to have a “clear vision” for her life without bandmates Perrie Edwards and Jade Thirlwall.

The insider added: “Leigh-Anne has a pretty clear vision of where she wants things to go after the band. She’s signed with a very established and successful management company, got a great record deal, appeared in the movie Boxing Day, alongside an all-black cast, and co-hosted the MOBO Awards – all just a few months after becoming a mum for the first time.

“She’s loved being in the band and has great memories of their experiences, but she’s definitely ready to step out on her own.”