Call her Miss Ross
the unauthorized biography of Diana Ross
Let me put it to you straight: This much-talked-about "unauthorized" biography has all the dirt for love/hate Ross "fans" and loyal fans alike, dragging Ross's name through the mud even more than former Supreme Mary Wilson's Dreamgirl ( LJ 12/86). Enough is enough! We've heard it all before in the tabloids where so-called employees "tattle" about the star's feisty ways--the very source, claims Taraborrelli, of most of his information. Yet, unlike Wilson, Taraborrelli starts in on Ross early, opening with the funeral of former Supreme Florence Ballard and going on to imply that Ross slept her way to the top. Taraborrelli leaves one with the impression that Ross couldn't love if her life depended on it--though the great lady's recent marriage to Norwegian shipping tycoon Arne Naess is shown in a better light. What's sad is that Taraborrelli spends so much time depicting Ross as "the bitch of all time" that much of what makes her a megasuperstar is not even touched upon. Probably more than anything, he should have given some account of how Ross came out on top in a business dominated by men. Call Her Miss Ross , we surely do; but she deserves better. Unauthorized reading.
