Pop
Tiffany refused to let pregnancy end her music career despite industry belief it would
Tiffany was told that she would "stop singing" when she got pregnant with her son, Elijah, but she pushed back on the music industry's belief as she "needed to provide" for her child.
“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?’”
For Tiffany - full name Tiffany Darwish - becoming a mom was never a reason to put her music career on hold, and her determination has made her a role model for women navigating the often punishing demands of the music industry.
Rising to fame as a teen sensation in the late 1980s, Tiffany’s hits such as I Think We’re Alone Now, Could’ve Been, and All This Time cemented her as one of the defining pop stars of her generation. Yet, when she discovered she was expecting her son Elijah in 1992 with her late ex-husband, makeup artist Bulmaro Garcia, the industry seemed to expect her to step away from the spotlight.
“Often as a woman you get tossed aside - ‘That's it. It's over,’” she recalled. Tiffany, 54, "never believed" that narrative, determined to continue performing, touring, and producing music while raising her child, a decision that has become central to her legacy.
Elijah, now 34, remains Tiffany’s proudest achievement. She speaks warmly of how supportive he has been throughout her career and beyond, describing him as “compassionate, well-rounded, and a hard worker.” From helping in the kitchen on her 1980s-inspired cookbook Pop Life to sharing quiet moments away from the cameras, he has watched his mother navigate the music world with courage and creativity.
“I see that in him. So yeah, he's my proudest moment,” she added, reflecting on the personal rewards of motherhood alongside a thriving career.
Tiffany also draws inspiration from trailblazing women such as Madonna and Belinda Carlisle, both 67, and Kim Wilde, 65, whose careers showed her that it was possible to be both successful and a mother. She 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.
Madonna was one of Tiffany's inspirations
"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."
Tiffany looked up to Belinda Carlisle as a young aspiring musician
Tiffany's admiration for these artists continues to influence her own path, and now she will be supporting Kim Wilde on her upcoming Singles Tour, a full-circle moment that blends her own experience with a celebration of female pop legacy.
Through decades of hits, reinvention, and navigating the expectations of an industry that often doubted mothers in music, Tiffany demonstrates that life as a parent and life as an artist can coexist. ContactMusic.com caught up with Tiffany where she proved that her story, filled with chart-topping singles, devoted family, and ongoing performances, shows that motherhood need not mark the end of a musical journey, but can coexist with it.
You're supporting Kim Wilde on her Singles Tour next year. It must have been really exciting when you got that phone call.
I’m over the moon. I'm a huge fan of Kim, and we used to be label mates back in the day. I got to see her many times and perform with her on those multi-bill festivals and things when I was only 16.
She's always been an inspiration to me. I think I've probably even told her at the time, ‘When I grow up, I want to be you,’ because she was everything. Her music, being an adult woman and handling her career, and also being beautiful - all of it. There was so much for me to draw from and continue to do.
Tiffany is supporting Kim Wilde on her Singles Tour next year
I just saw her not too long ago at one of the festivals and sat on the side of the stage and watched her set. I was just thinking, I love all the music. It takes me back to my childhood, of course, but also, again, as a woman, it's amazing to see her still doing what she loves.
She's amazing. It's a great show. She looks great. So again, it's still inspiring for me.
She was one of many trailblazers, wasn't she? The music industry, especially back then, was heavily male-dominated. To see someone else doing what you probably aspired to do, which of course you ended up doing, that must have been really refreshing and reassuring that you could be successful as a woman in the music business at that time.
Yeah, and stay the course as well.
Now it's great because I get to hear this music every night because I am genuinely a fan. I love her music. So it's a win-win all the way for me. I love it.
And I get to see my fans out there, and it's going to be a great, great show. We're really excited.
Do you think you'll do duets, given that you're a fan and Kim's a fan of your work as well?
I don't know. I don't know what they have planned.
We haven't started with production yet. On my side, we're getting our set list together and all of that.
I'm currently out promoting my cookbook right now, Pop Life, so I haven't really jumped into that yet because Pop Life and the culinary world are so new for me.
So I'm learning right now as well.
The cookbook is reworking the ‘80s. It's all inspired by ‘80s food, but jazzed up for your adult kitchen.
We have a little bit of a stylish rollout. I didn't want it to be an '80s backyard birthday party. That's not what we're doing.
For the Pop Life parties, they're a little slick, but they are '80s parties, and you come and try the food. It's an ‘80s theme, but we've got a little bit of flair to it, and people are having fun.
I'm putting these out. I just did my first one in Vegas. I'll have one here in the UK next month.
They're starting to weave in and out of a lot of my live events.
What was it about Kim and other singer that inspired you to become a musician?
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.
Not only that, asked for by my fans.
So I got to see Kim, and I got to see Belinda [Carlisle], 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.
Because we've come a long way, but especially back in the ‘80s and even the early ‘90s, I had challenges as well.
Tiffany back in 1989
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.
I think some of these women felt the same. They stayed the course. They were even better at their careers, and they got to have a personal life and a family.
They're full circle, and that really interests me.
if you were starting now in what is more of a digital world, do you think it would be difficult for you to get to where you were in the ‘80s?
I don't know. I think there's a meant-to-be factor in life as well, and then a work ethic, and then obviously talent. Nowadays they don't always come in that order.
You can do a lot of other things to make yourself known.
TikTok, obviously, is a great avenue for people who can't get to Hollywood or don't have the resources or can't hire a publicist or make demo tapes.
But I think that we still need to keep some of that organic aspect as well.
Now with social media, I'm learning. I'm failing, really, because you're supposed to post how many times a day, and apparently it's exciting to watch me eat a bowl of pasta.
To me, it's foreign because the ‘80s were still a part of getting to know us and our lives, but it was a little bit more glamorous.
We weren't literally getting in a car, sitting there on our phone going, ‘Hey,’ and people saying, ‘Oh my God, it went viral,’ because you said something about your cat or whatever.
So it's different. But at the same time, for a lot of my small businesses, I love that you can see me in the kitchen, that it's not foreign.
Before, if I would have said, ‘Well, I want to do cooking,’ they would have said, ‘Nope, you have to pick one. You can just be a singer.'
So I think that's gotten better. And I do think the fans want to have some access to our lives.
But there's nothing wrong with a little glamour as well. There's nothing wrong with a little bit of old school and waiting.
I'm a big fan of rolling things out and waiting and giving little nibbles of what's happening.
But we don't have patience for that anymore.
Exactly. Because it's so fast-paced these days with social media.
Yeah. For the cookbook, I just had a multi-marketing meeting, and I'm taking on a social media team because I don't know what's trending and hashtag blah blah blah.
I literally sat there going, ‘Oh, OK.’ I said, ‘Well, I'm doing this post.’ And they said, ‘No, nobody will see it because you don't know the trending.’And I said, ‘Oh, OK.’
They're proving their worth, but it is its own system. It's crazy.
That led me to watching a movie called Younger on Netflix and watching those girls and how they're posting everything and all the gimmicks and stuff.
I was like, ‘I've got a long way to go.’
Back when you were a musician in the ‘80s, did you want to branch out and do something else as well as music, and were told not to - just pick music or one or the other?
Another inspiration has always been Cher and Bette Midler - people who crossed over and did acting and a little bit of all of it.
Cher is an important figure in Tiffany's life
Again, I was told, 'No, just pick one.’
I don't know if that was because of my age, and in itself it was hard enough to really develop my brand.
The music was there, but had it not been for the Mall Tour, I would have gotten dropped from my label.
They were sending me out to New York, and the music was going great, and they loved me, but I was a minor. I wasn't even allowed to be in the clubs.
Eventually, there were those obstacles of, how do we break this artist?
Bette Midler inspired Tiffany
Had it not been for the Mall Tour, I would have never even been here. So I think adding extra things, people were saying, ‘No, let's just stay here.’
I was often told no, even though I did come from an acting background and a dance background.
I never really got a chance to apply that.
Those are things that I'm seeking now. I've done some independent movies. I still want to do some acting.
Obviously I'm moving into the culinary world. I have Radical Reds, which is an online boutique. I make custom jackets. So I'm living those dreams now, basically.
Did you get offered a big TV show or film role that you wanted to take but couldn't because you had music behind you?
I found out about these things later because they went through management first.
But yes, there were some great opportunities - even to pair with other artists like Gloria Estefan.
And they said no. So I was like, ‘What?’I found that out years later.
I would have loved the opportunity to do something with Gloria Estefan. I'm a huge fan, and she's an amazing vocalist.
Just the experience of working with another artist and becoming an extension of their team and learning from them.
Tiffany found out she could have collaborated with Gloria Estefan
You were scared of flying at one point. How did you overcome that?
My love of what I do. And feeling that God made this happen for a reason. I pretty much put it back on him.
I was given this talent, and it happened. Not many people can say that it happened in a big way. It continues to happen. I enjoy doing it, and I love my fans.
All of that is so positive that even though it's not my favourite thing to do, I have to believe that's what I'm meant to do and move in faith and get on there.
I meditate a lot. I ask my family for prayer. But it's my determination to keep going until we do holograms. I've got to get on. There's a Judy Jetson in me.
What sparked your fear of flying? Did you have a bad experience?
I did, yeah. I had a few really bad experiences, so it wasn't unwarranted.
But they were very rare.
Basically, like I said, I get on the plane, and I go where I have to go and visualise what I'm going to do when I get to the other side and just make it happen.
What kind of bad experience did you have? Was it something quite dangerous?
Well, yeah, we got stuck in the wake of another plane, so it's very rare.
It’s something that doesn't really happen too often, but it wasn't amazing. That kind of stopped me for many years.
Then I was offered the chance to go to Singapore, which is one of my favourite places.
My agent called and said, ‘OK, I'm going to pitch this to you, and I know you're going to say no, but I have to always pitch things to you.’
‘You've got an offer to go to Singapore. They want to fly the whole band. Everything's covered. It's a big festival.’
He told me all the line-up, and I loved all the bands.
Then he said, ‘It would be a lot of flying, so I know it's going to be a no.’ I said, ‘Leave it with me. Let me think about it.’
And he was like, ‘What?’ Then he called me back about 10 minutes later and said, ‘OK, you know this is a lot of flying.’
I said, ‘No, I've been to Singapore before. I know.’ He said, ‘OK.’
I said, 'Call me back. Let me sit with it because I love Singapore and I love this line-up, and there's a whole band, and it could be fun. Just let me think about it.'
So I did. I sat and prayed about it. I called him back about 30 minutes later and said, ‘Yeah man, I'll do it.’
And he was like, ‘OK, you won't fly an hour, but you're going to fly 32 hours?’I said, ‘I never said I made sense. Never said that.’
It sounded like this could be a really fun thing. I love Singapore, and I'd love to go back. I love my fans there, and I thought, let's just do it.
Tiffany performing at Rewind Festival South in 2019
Good on you. And with your cookbook, Pop Life, you create ‘80s-inspired dishes. I'd imagine your son maybe tries the food or helps out as well. What does he think of the whole ‘80s thing - your music, the food, and the fashion? Does he like it?
My son was very instrumental in this cookbook. That's why he gets a dedication, because he's been really supportive.
In fact, my kitchen looks like Harry Potter. My kitchen's black and gold, so it is not the normal cooking kitchen.
When I come here, this is my second home. My girlfriend has this house, and she travels quite a bit, so in the top part of her house there's a little flat I stay in.
This kitchen is all white. It's beautiful. It's where I do a lot for my food club, Let's Food with Tiffany.
Then my son offered his kitchen, which looks just the same as this. So I took all my stuff over there.
He was so proud. He was plating food for me and everything. I was on the down low taking pictures from my camera so he wouldn't see because that was such a moment.
I didn't dare put him in the cookbook, but it meant a lot to me. He's always been very supportive of my music as well.
But especially for cooking. He grew up with me cooking all the time. I've always loved Insta parties. I've always loved gathering people. I've always loved cooking for people.
It's just what I do. So it was a normal transition for him. It made sense.
But now to actually have a cookbook and be doing things and living my dreams and making it happen, he's very proud of me.
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.
You're an inspiration to him.
Yeah. We've always had big family gatherings. I've always been the person who has everything at their house, so everybody comes to my house.
Sometimes it's nice to have help. Sometimes I'm like, ‘I've got this, just go out.’ And they're like, ‘This is 75 people.’
And I'm like, ‘It's fine, I've got this.’ Because I really enjoy watching people gather. I'm in the kitchen, and I have a flow.
I love entertaining people and making people happy through food in a weird way - and through music.
Even now with my fans, when they come to meet and greets, I bring the charcuterie platter, and I sit down, and they can have coffee or wine or soda.
There's a sit-down factor, and they're like, ‘What is happening?’
I say, ‘No, this is a real meet and greet. You're going to really meet me, and we're going to talk. You've got a long night ahead of you - have some nibbles.’
I'm a mom to everybody. I really enjoy that because when you're sitting down and sharing a meal with people, people tend not to be stressed.
They let their guard down. Then they really take in the moment of meeting me. It's really a pleasant thing and a memory.
Sometimes I see people meeting me on step and repeat, and it's so fast. I'm like, ‘You're not going to remember any of this. Thank God we're getting a picture.’
I was like that when I met Stevie Nicks twice in a row. I was like, ’What did I say? Did I nerd out? I left my body.’
So I get it. I totally get it. I try to disarm that a lot.
I can imagine that your son probably thinks you're a really cool mom as well.
Yeah. I mean, now he's 34. So I think now, when he was 16, and I said no to a lot of things, he really thought I was not cool.
Obviously he was embarrassed a lot because I was always in my duds, dressed to go out.
He's a structural engineer, so there's that. He's very introverted. He's very conservative. And I've always been clown lady.
So he was always like, ‘My friends are here for study group. Can you use the other door? Is this going to come with a lot of conversation about who’s that and why is your mum dressed up like that?
‘People don't - not everybody knows who you are, Mom.’
And I was like, 'Well, that's a shame, but OK. I'll use the other door.’
Looking over your illustrious career, what would you say is the one thing you're most proud of that you've achieved?
My son. Definitely my son. 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. He was just with me a couple of weekends ago.
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. He's very sweet and kind and loves her. That's the key to me.
‘I want you to be a functional, great person to other people and successful.’ And I see that in him. So yeah, he's my proudest moment.
Elijah and Laura are adorable together.
I adore her as well. She's the same - she's a hard worker and a very compassionate person.
And they work so well together. I had a cabinet they were putting together for me for my Mother's Day.
Me being a structural engineer - I phone that in for my son. Of course, there were all these bits and pieces, and the directions weren't matching up.
For Elijah, that was a little frustrating. And Laura came over and said, ‘We have to step back for a little bit, my love. Even though this is not what it said on the instructions, we just have to keep moving forward.’
They worked so great together. Whereas my fiancé and I are both vibrant entertainers, and we wouldn’t get into an argument, but we’d be a little different.
Mark is Italian. It would be a different path. We'd get it done. But they were so calm together and joking around and working together.
I was like, I love all of this.
