Tiffany rejected claims that becoming a mom would end her singing career.
Tiffany refused to let pregnancy derail her music career despite being told she would “stop singing” once she became a mom.
The I Think We’re Alone Now hitmaker, who welcomed her son Elijah with her late ex-husband, makeup artist Bulmaro Garcia, in 1992, quickly shot down the idea that becoming a mom meant her pop star days were over, and insisted the need to keep working to provide for her child.
She told ContactMusic: “When I first got pregnant, it was, ‘Oh well, you’ll stop singing.’
“And I said, ‘No. I need to sing more. I need to provide for my child. What are you talking about?’
“Often as a woman you get tossed aside – ‘That’s it. It’s over.’
“I never believed that.”
Tiffany, 54, credits Madonna and Belinda Carlisle, both 67, and Kim Wilde, 65, for showing her that women can successfully balance their careers with motherhood.
The Could’ve Been artist explained: “I was already a musician. I was already touring, but I think it was more about where I was coming from as such a young girl.
“Being interviewed and wanting to do fashion – I was so young. Nobody had that around me. Nobody was taking me to stylists or hair and makeup, and that was to be expected eventually; that was going to become something I wanted to pursue.
“So I got to see Kim, and I got to see Belinda, and all of these women in front of me doing it right. They were my leaders. I love Madonna, but she stood on her own to some degree with really tempting fashion and totally going a different way.
“But for me, it was also about commanding yourself as a woman in interviews and then having a personal life as well – being able later on to have relationships and children and still be committed to your career and still be relevant.”
The star – full name Tiffany Darwish – has achieved huge success since she shot to global stardom at the age of 16 in 1987.
That following year, the All This Time performer became the youngest artist to top the Billboard 200 chart when her self-titled album knocked Michael Jackson’s Bad from the No.1 spot.
And in 2024, Tiffany was inducted into the California Music Hall of Fame.
But it is Elijah, a structural engineer, who remains her proudest achievement.
She said: “Being a mom has been the best thing that’s ever happened to me.
“Raising him and seeing him now in his adult life and making great choices in his career.
“Our relationship is different. I’m listening to him make choices and hearing about his stress load at work and his relationship with his girlfriend and their plans of buying a house.
“He’s a good person. He’s a really good person. I’m very proud of him. He’s compassionate, well-rounded, and a hard worker.
“And he’s really good to his girlfriend, Laura. He’s very sweet and kind and loves her. That’s the key to me.
“He’s my proudest moment.”
And Elijah is equally as proud of his mom.
Tiffany – who has recently released her ’80 food-inspired cookbook, Pop Life – said: “He’s like, ‘Mom, I’m proud that you had a dream and you stuck with it and you kept going. Now you have your cookbook, and you’re pursuing other stuff, and I’m really happy for you.’
“That means the world to me.”
Tiffany refused to let motherhood end her music career
