Eartha Kitt may have been known as a Hollywood sex kitten, but her daughter wants the world to know that offscreen, she was an incredible mother.
Kitt Shapiro, who is Kitt’s only child, recounted her relationship with her mother in her new memoir titled “Eartha & Kitt: A Daughter’s Love Story in Black & White.” The book delves into the bond she had with her mother, who passed away back in 2008 at the age of 81 following a battle with colon cancer.
When asked by Fox News why she decided to write this book, Shapiro replied, “I think as we get older, we become more comfortable in our skin. I’m going to be 60 this year. And I just felt like the timing was right. My mother had so many profound messages and lessons she taught me. She loved the art of conversation – really intense, intellectual conversation.”
“So I thought this was a really cool way to keep the conversation going,” she added. “This is a story about a woman who had such an incredible impact on this Earth in so many ways. But in many other ways, people don’t know about them. And I think, even if you are a fan of hers, you will definitely learn new things in this book.”
Shapiro went on to say that she was always aware that her mother was famous.
“I obviously knew very early on that my mother was somebody famous,” she explained. “But I also grew up in Los Angeles where that wasn’t such a unique thing. I went to a French school and there were a lot of kids whose parents were either diplomats or in the entertainment industry. So nobody was really impressed that my mother was famous.”
“But it wasn’t until I grew older that I came to fully understand the impact she had on people,” Shapiro continued. “We moved to New York when I was a teenager. We would walk down a street and people would call out her name. But it was all I’ve ever known.”
Despite her glamorous reputation, Kitt was not like that at home, according to her daughter.
“She was anything but glamorous at home,” Shapiro said with a laugh. “She was at her most comfortable in her garden with her hands in the soil. Eartha was her given name and it’s not lost on me that she truly was of the Earth. She was so connected to the environment, our planet and nature. At home, she would have her hair wrapped up in a scarf and wear these dirty jeans and oversized sweatshirts with no makeup while attending to her garden. She was her most comfortable self.”
When asked what she hopes fans will take away from her book, Shapiro said, “Ultimately, it’s a love story of mother and daughter. My mother was a trailblazer and a role model who made an incredible impact on this planet, but she also gave birth to a child and developed such a special bond with her daughter. And I still carry that today. We adored each other.”
“I hope this book encourages people to have conversations with loved ones because she did love that art of conversation.… We all have a legacy, whether you’re famous or not,” she concluded. “And I want people to hold on to those precious moments with their loved ones because it’s what keeps us connected. It’s part of our history. But I also hope this book gives people joy because my mother certainly gave that to me. She still does.”
Comments are closed.