“My name, Eleanora, was too damn long for anyone to say. Besides, I never liked it. Especially not after my Grandma shortened it and used to scream “Nora!” at me from the back porch. My father had started calling me Bill because I was such a tomboy. I didn’t mind that, but I wanted to be pretty, too, and have a pretty name. So I decided Billie was it and I made it stick.”
– Billie Holiday
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Notes
- If you enjoyed this Billie Holiday quote, please consider supporting Historical Snapshots with a contribution. To contribute, please visit our Patreon page at https://www.patreon.com/historicalsnapshots. Your support is much appreciated.
- Billie overcame much turmoil in her childhood years and became a music star as a jazz singer. Please click here to read a snapshot biography of her.
Sources
- Holiday, Billie, William Dufty, and Vincent Pelote. Lady Sings the Blues. Ringwood, Vic: Penguin Books, 1992.
- “Photograph of Billie Holiday.” Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, 2013.46.25.90, https://nmaahc.si.edu/object/
nmaahc_2013.46.25.90
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