I was born Pauline Matthews and grew up in Bradford as one of three children - I had an older brother, David, and an older sister, Betty. My father Fred worked in the mills as a textile weaving supervisor, and my mother, Mary, was a housewife.
From Kiki Dee
It's not so much that I ever declared: 'I will never have children.' I just never found the right man to settle down with, so it didn't happen.
I look back and wonder why I wasted my time talking about fried potatoes with the great John Lennon. But that's what was so fabulous about him - he was very down to earth.
I realised when I sang at family parties and Christmases I'd suddenly get everyone's attention, and, being the youngest of three, I thought what a brilliant attention-seeking ploy it was.
In my late 30s, I flirted with the idea of having a child without necessarily being in a steady relationship. But I've never had a strong maternal urge, and then I got cancer of the womb - luckily caught at an early stage - so that put paid to that.
My older brother had a lot of Elvis on vinyl, and really, that was my first introduction to music during the Fifties.
I always enjoyed sport. I was a bit of a wild child, to be honest, and just loved running around.
Being the youngest, I was a bit of a daddy's girl and sought attention from an early age by singing. I don't know where I got my voice, but ours was always a musical house.
I was never particularly academic, so it was no great surprise when I failed my 11-plus and consequently went to Wibsey Secondary Modern. I did all right in English, history and music, which were the subjects that most interested me.
I found acting tough; it takes a lot out of you if you have no technique.
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