By Karu F. Daniels, AOL Black Voices"My mother is a regular person who happened to make it big," her eldest child, Rhonda Ross rationalized in a recent interview with 'Vibe Vixen' magazine.
"Her parents and her sisters are regular working folk. So she did not want us to be a part of the rich, trust-fund socialite life that some of our peer group was in."
While the family kept an apartment in Manhattan and lived in a palatial Connecticut home with maids and servants, they stayed in Detroit every summer, sleeping on their cousins' bedroom floor, reports writer Aliya S. King in the new edition of the urban female magazine -- on newsstands now.
It was an attempt to keep them grounded.
Literally!
Literally!
Her younger sister Tracee Ellis Ross (star of the long-running sitcom 'Girlfriends') graces the cover of the magazine for a feature titled "The Anti Diva," in which Rhonda, a jazz singer and actress, is quoted heavily in.
In her first big cover story, Tracee talks about her life as the daughter of a diva and as a television star in her own right.
"Finding identity in the shadow of a well-known parent was awkward for Tracee," Rhonda added. "And our mom was not always well-liked.
"I can't tall you how many people have said, 'You are so normal and grounded that my idea of who your mother is must have been wrong."
"As I got older, I was so self-conscious of being labeled a diva that sometimes I allowed myself to be walked over," Tracee revealed. "I could cry about it right this minute."
Tracee also talked extensively about the drama about co-star Jill Marie Jones abruptly leaving 'Girlfriends.'
But let's not rush things.
