Toyah Willcox has spoken out about her challenging childhood and heartbreaking relationship with her late mother Barbara.
The musician, actress, and TV presenter has enjoyed a career which has spanned more than 40 years.
But she got off to a very difficult start in life as mum Barbara “always wanted to alter” her.
The 62-year-old told The Guardian that she “was never right” in her parent’s eyes – and that her chosen career path disappointed her mother.
The candid star said she was an “obedient child” in a claustrophobic house until she was around the age of 12.
Then things really changed for the young girl.
Toyah has spoken about her troubled childhood (Image: Dave Benett/Getty Images)
She told the publication: “I completely rebelled, ran away from home, I started making my own clothes, I became a hair model where my hair was dyed at the age of 14, and I was touring in hair shows. I just broke every rule.”
She added: “My mother was very complex. She never told the truth of her history to us.
She has enjoyed a showbiz career spanning over 40 years (Image: Granada TV)
“She experienced something in her life which meant she never experienced happiness again. None of us understood why she was the way she was.
“It shattered me, because my mother went through something where she needed love, support and therapy. And she got a daughter like me.”
I Want To Be Free singer Toyah has released more than 20 albums, written two books appeared in over 40 stage plays.
Toyah has released more than 20 albums (Image: Mirrorpix)
But she puts her “deliberately, relentlessly happy” aura down to Barbara not wanting her to be that type of person.
“She was always kind of covering me up, and always wanted me altered in some way. I was never right,” she added.
As her mother reached the final years of her life Toyah reconnected with her and she says they enjoyed “two rather fabulous years with her”.
The Punk icon is happily married to King Crimson guitarist Robert Fripp.
Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
