I think that if you are an untraveled soul , you have not really lived , and traveling is part of educating your children .
Carter found exactly that in D . C ., where along with husband Robert Altman , she raised their two children ( now 30 and 29 , both D . C . attorneys just like their father ). At the same time , she used her fame to champion important causes like fighting breast cancer , advocating women ’ s rights and pushing for legal equality for the LGBT community ; and all the while she never stopped performing , going back to Hollywood and well beyond .
Always known for her striking good looks — the statuesque Anglo- Latina beauty was Miss World USA in 1972 — Carter has also always been an accomplished singer , a talent that launched the now 66-year-old ’ s entertainment career in her original hometown of Phoenix . Her vocal gift is an instrument that she has always protected and nurtured , and continues to give both her and her legion of fans great pleasure today .
“ I ’ ve been singing for 50 years . I started when I was 14 years old , singing in clubs in Arizona ,” Carter tells us . “ I started in one band and moved up to a better band and moved up to a better band and went on the road and toured in England and actually recorded for Motown . And I recorded for EMI , too .”
In the 1980s , she performed in five of her own TV variety specials , singing duets with everyone from Tom Jones and Ray Charles to Eddie Rabbit , Tony Orlando and Bob Hope ; and all along she continued her acting career , returning to Hollywood ( and various sets in other places ) to star in numerous TV movies and series , including “ Partners in Crime ” and “ Hawkeye .” More musical performances followed throughout the ‘ 90s and into the new century , when Carter reached a much-desired personal career goal , taking on the role of Mama Morton in the West End theatrical production of “ Chicago ” in 2005 , to much acclaim .
That was just the beginning of her personal Renaissance , as the then fiftyish star really got back in the entertainment fame game , as her son and daughter grew up , left the nest , and went off to college and their own careers .
“ I only work because what else am I going to do ? My kids are working . What am I going to do all day ? I used to have to cart them everywhere and now everyone ’ s off working , and if you ’ re not working it ’ s like , what are you doing with yourself ? Nothing . And you say , ‘ Oh my god , [ life is ] so bland !’ So I ’ ve just kept on working ,” Carter says with a deep laugh .
And working with a vengeance , with a burgeoning career that currently spans concert tours , writing songs and recording albums , starring in movies (“ Super Troopers ,” “ Sky High ,” “ The Dukes of Hazzard ”), doing recurring roles on television shows like “ Supergirl ” and carving out a huge new fan base by performing voiceover work in hot video games like the “ Elder Scrolls ” series and the award-winning “ Fallout 4 .”
“ I was kind of on the ground floor of doing a lot of voice acting for video games ,” she remembers , “ then the creators of some of those games had been to my shows and they ’ d heard my music , and they were looking for music , so [ my band and I ] got together and wrote five songs for ‘ Fallout 4 .’ They liked them all , and they ended up in the game , which was great .”
It ’ s that same group of musicians and producers that Carter calls her “ All-Star Band ,” the team that tours the country with her as part of her cabaret show and have collaborated on her most recent studio albums , “ At Last ” ( 2009 ) and “ Crazy Little Things ” ( 2011 ). Both the shows and the albums are a mix of styles and genres , from blues and American standards to rock , Motown soul and a little bit of country , too .
“ It ’ s always a thrill to work with these guys , because they ’ re really at the top of their game and I ’ ve known some of them for 40 years ,” she smiles . “ And now we ’ ve been together now for ten years , and we ’ ve got a new studio album called ‘ Red , Rock and Blues ’ coming out in March .”
She describes “ Red , Rock and Blues ” as “ a compilation of a lot of music from a lot of different genres and areas of music that I ’ ve loved over a long period of time .” It also includes songs she has written herself and , as Carter proudly reveals , features duets with her daughter Jessica Altman , the D . C . lawyer . “ She ’ s got quite a voice !’ And while her daughter may not be quitting her day job just yet for the bright lights of show business , Carter is happy to report that she ’ s
I think that if you are an untraveled soul , you have not really lived , and traveling is part of educating your children .
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given both her children a strong foundation toward understanding the world around them , by exposing them to travel and seeing other cultures from a very young age .
“ I think that if you are an untraveled soul , you have not really lived ,” she muses . “ And traveling is part of educating your children . My children have been traveling since they were infants . They know how to travel . You need to be able to teach your children how to make their way through airports and cities and to do all the things that you do when you travel , so that they become self sufficient and they can make their way through any situation at anytime .”
And Carter , whose airports of choice from her Maryland home are Reagan National Airport ( DCA ) and Dulles International ( IAD ), adds that being a world traveler has really shaped her ( and her family ) as people . “ To be able to see the world and to see how other people live , it gives you sense and gets you out of your bubble . You are out of what you know , your comfy little , tiny little , space in the world . Traveling has given me a large part of my education ,” she declares .
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