I was a child prodigy who had a freak voice of something like four octaves.

I had a teacher who stressed for me the importance of diction in terms of... I want to be very careful about how I say this... in terms of supporting one's voice when one is singing. In other words, if you hold on to your words, your voice will pull through for you when you're singing. So be true to your vowels.

Nobody told me I was a child prodigy.

I am told that the first comprehensible word I uttered as a child was 'home.'

Like most girls, I fantasized about being some sort of a princess.

My parents were in Vaudeville, in musical. And I would tour with them and had a couple of wonderfully lucky breaks in England.