Mum was a high-jumper and qualified to go to the Olympics, but it got into the newspapers that she was married to my father, and the church put pressure on her to pull out of the Olympic team, saying, ‘You can’t be exposing all your legs.’ That’s how strong the influence of the church was on us all.
When I was 13, I remember crying on my mum’s shoulder when my first girlfriend dumped me via MSN Messenger. That was cold.
I was bribed into starting swimming with the promise of sweets and by being told that you can win medals. My mum had given me a bag of medals which she had won when she was young, so the idea of winning medals was very exciting.
I get my competitive edge from my mum. When we’re together, we’re competitive about little things – it’ll be, ‘I can bake cakes better than you can.’ But she’s never been a pushy parent; she’s always just supported me.
I’ve never tried to find my real parents. I’m very grateful to my mum and dad for adopting me – they’re completely incredible people. It was my dad who encouraged me to question everything, to forge my own path, to think, to read. I always felt it was my right to question everything.
If somebody says, ‘That’s Elon’s mum,’ which happens quite a bit, they are usually stunned; sometimes they cry. I’m flattered because, I mean, to them, he’s saving the world. They just feel he’s the only hope.
I had never cooked. I had never wanted any other food that wasn’t from my mum. Her food is special.
My dad had a flock of sheep, which he used to milk, and then my mum used to make cheese and yogurt out of the sheep’s milk and sell it. It was kind of an unusual upbringing, really.
When two people break up, it’s all about them; they can’t see anyone else. And the people getting smashed to bits are the kids. Then you’re getting torn – your mum wants you, your dad wants you. You just get shredded. It has a long-lasting effect as well.
My mum died when I was 11.
My mum and dad are quite hippyish, so I’m pretty naive. I take everyone at face value.
My mum was very conscious about fashion and my dad was born into the tailoring tradition, so fashion has always been my life, although now, really, I wear the same thing – just in different weights – light and heavy cashmere in winter and cotton in summer.
One day, my mum bought me this music production software for my computer, and I started making beats… I realised it was more like production than a video game, but it was a video game when I was playing it. That’s how I got into music production.
I want to be a young mum and if I didn’t have to work I’d have them tomorrow. I’d like three!
I grew up on a small holding, it was a great way to grow up and incredibly idyllic. We had a donkey and Barney the guard dog, geese, a duckling that followed my mum around and used to sit in the washing up bowl.
Mum would have a panic attack if she had to stand up and give a speech around a table.
I’m from a salt-of-the-earth, working-class, northern background. My dad’s a steelworker and a firefighter, and my mum is a secretary for the NHS.
My collection has a whole new cut; they are based on the style of jeans my mum wore in Texas in the ’70s.
I have scary eyes. I look like the guy in ‘American History X,’ yes. I remember coming home from school and asking my mum if I could get an eye transplant, and of course she declined.
I like fashion. My mum was a dressmaker, believe it or not, so the consequence of that was that all my clothes were homemade, and I looked like a terrible mess until I was old enough to buy my own. But I love good tailoring.
When I was younger, my mum used to dress me in, like, lime green leggings with a matching neon jumper and hair scrunch, so I’d say I’ve definitely progressed since then in terms of style.
This mum comes up, she’s got a five-year-old kid and she says, ‘Can he have your autograph, you are his favourite person in the whole world.’ I thought, ‘How cool is that? I’ve got five-year-old fans,’ and as I’m signing this autograph, the mum goes, ‘Yeah, yeah, you’re by far the best Wiggle.’
I always remember this neighbor who would ask me to babysit for her. She looked like Jayne Mansfield, and I remember babysitting for, like, five hours and she would pay me 80 cents, with a phony smile. I used to go home fuming to my mum.
When you’re young, no one cares who your parents are, although Mum would arrive to pick me up in her full hair and make-up and fur, and I used to say, ‘Can’t you just dress normally, like all the other mums?’ I wanted her to blend in more, but I’ve always been really proud of Mum – as proud as she is of me.
I was brought up by my mum and my sister. I’ve always been around independent women; I like that. Anybody who’s a fake I don’t like and I don’t talk to.
I don’t want to be a great chief executive without being a great mum and a great wife.
It’s a tough one for me, politics. I grew up in a house where my father is a Christian book salesman and a Tory, and my mum’s a social worker. So I can always see the benefits of both arguments.
My mum won’t speak to me unless I speak properly on the phone. I have to speak ‘American’ for work, so often the accent comes through when I’m not at work.
I love doing girly stuff with my mum or with Sophia. I took Sophia and a couple of her friends to the Hello Kitty spa. They had chocolate facials and Hello Kitty mani-pedis. I put it on my Twitter and got lots of abuse for it, but I think it’s just a nice girly thing.
My dad was a labourer and my mum had exactly the same job as Noel Gallagher’s mum – she was a dinner lady at our local school. Everyone comes over from Ireland and they get the same jobs.
My mum is a school teacher and my dad is an electrician.
My parents split up when I was 16, and, while Mum came to a few Tests, Dad didn’t make many. So I was glad he was at Lord’s.
My mum brought me up on her own. All we really had was each other.
I admire my mother for being a single mum. It’s ridiculously hard.
Well, unfortunately, my father passed away before my first book was published, so he never lived to see me as an author. But I think my mum was suitably pleased because she was mad about words. If she ever came across a word that she didn’t know, she would always look it up in the dictionary.
Mum obviously did not earn much money to feed me and my siblings. She worked hard to raise us, but there was always something missing.
I don’t like being weak in front of my mum or anyone for that matter. I don’t like crying.
When I told my mum I was going to play my first gig when I was 14, she couldn’t believe it, cause I was painfully shy at that time. But I just done it, put my head down and got through it. And I suppose there’s still a little bit of that, even though it’s many years later and I’ve been doing it for a long time.
My mum was too busy raising four of us to encourage my hopes. But I’m glad I had the upbringing I did. It made me a worrier and a thoughtful, curious person.
I grew up in a house full of women. I have two older sisters and my mum who is a very strong woman.
A coach told my mum I had talent and I would make a very good skater.
One of my favourite items is a very old jacket – it was my mum’s uniform from when she was working 15 or 20 years ago.
People always ask is it hard being an entrepreneur and a mum, and the answer is ‘yes.’
My dad never decided what he wanted to do; at times he fought in the army, was a teacher, a boxer, a light engineer, and a then a publican. My mum was a traditional housewife and mother. They showed my brother and I unconditional love.
My dad actually makes the best cookies. My mum is great baker, too, but doesn’t share them – it’s tantalising! Luckily for me though, my dad shares his!
It’s funny landing parts now where I’m somebody’s mum. I remember the first time I was asked to play a mum. I was easily old enough, but because I didn’t have any children, I thought, ‘That seems really grown-up.’
I don’t ever want to be like a peasant. I want to always be all right. But motivation is fans – not your kids, your mum, none of that. All of that matters, but number one is your fans.
Creativity runs across many categories in life, from the arts-and-crafts project a mum or dad does with their kids, to the bestselling author’s manuscript, to the designs of the hairdresser, to the creations of the computer programming genius.
I was lucky because my mum was a teacher and showed me how to read and write. But most importantly, she encouraged me to use my imagination.
I love singing – singing is what I’m famous for doing. Now it’s turned into things I am famous for doing – like having rows with my mum or about my boyfriend, so it does get irritating.
Mum’s a worrier, she looked after everybody apart from herself – I think it runs in the family.
I love home, any home really – my mum’s, and of course my own. I love eating food there and chilling in bed with a cup of tea.
My poor mum had a lot of problems with me around that time. I was young but I’d been working for years, so if she asked me to clean my room I’d say, ‘You can’t tell me what to do after I’ve worked a 12-hour day.’ It gave me a power that no one that age should have.
I found it hard being a full-time mum and take my hat off to anyone who can do it.
My mum taught me always to see the funny side of things.
