How Six-Time Grammy Winner Dionne Warwick Prioritized Parenting

Published: July 26, 2023

How Six-Time Grammy Winner Dionne Warwick Prioritized Parenting

By Movieguide® Contributor

Six-time Grammy Award winner Dionne Warwick and her son Damon Elliott joined the Jesus Calling podcast to share how she prioritized faith and her children as an international superstar.

Warwick raised her sons as a single mother, and despite the challenges, Elliott reflected on his mom’s presence in his life growing up.

“Growing up, mom never missed a softball game, never missed a tennis game. She was always there at the end of me and my brother getting in trouble, meaning that she was always right there to catch us,” he shared.

He also shared how, despite her fame, Warwick was committed to being their mother first.

“She sat us down once we both were of age to kind of figure out what was going on. And she said, ‘You know, you might see me on TV, you might see me on stage under these lights, and people might go a little goo-ga over me, but I’m your mommy, and I’ll always be your mommy,’” Elliott reflected.

“So that’s just the way it’s always been,” he added. “She was preparing me to be able to kind of step into this arena and be able to handle it.”

Now a musician himself, Elliott continues to look to his mother for guidance.

“She’s like our sounding board. So that’s kind of how both me and my brother looked to Mom. We call her every day with everything,” he explained.

Warwick added, “One thing, I was not aware that their [her children’s] interest was going to fall into that category of music.”

“My whole sense of their well-being is basically whatever makes them happy,” she explained. “They could have been mechanics for all it mattered, as long as it made them happy. So it’s exciting that they chose music, and the reward has been [their] success in it.”

Through all her success and hardships, Warwick reflected on God’s faithfulness, saying, “all the things that He does for me, I am truly thankful and grateful for.”

“He’s given me a path to follow and a plan He has for me. And I’m following that plan and that path,” she added. “So, whatever comes within the realm of that, I’m supposed to face. I have no problem with that.”