[teforde23]

Liz Smith

February 28, 2006 -- 'I STILL don't know if I want to have children. If that's in the cards for me . . . it's not if I 'want' to have chil dren. I feel like being a celebrity and having kids is a huge responsibility. I would want to make sure I was fully prepared to handle what would happen to those kids when they have to deal with the baggage of having a famous parent."

That's Mariah Carey with Barbara Walters. You'll see this interview tomorrow on Barbara's pre-Oscar special (very "pre" - this is the first time the show has not aired on Oscar night itself, which is Sunday).

As for Mariah's remarks on having kids - brava! Famous or not, so many people decide to have children for all the wrong reasons; they raise unhappy children. Mariah seems reasonably content with her fame, fans, work. Mariah knows the damage of an insecure home environment. That she sees clearly she might not be mature or unselfish enough to raise her own kids, is a testament to real maturity.

I love Mariah. And she does a lot for children anyway, through her various charities.

I'm so happy to hear this. THis might be the most intelligent thing that she's ever said. Why can't more celebrities do this eg. Meg Ryan, Sharon Stone.