Prinnie Stevens shares heartfelt stories of racism during her teenage years and early career

She is performing in Lady Sings the Blues as part of the Sydney Festival this month.

And Prinnie Stevens recently spoke about facing racism as a teenager and during her career in America.

The 40-year-old explained that most people in the US thought she was African-American, like her bandmates, and she would have to explain that she is, in fact, Polynesian.

Despite explaining this to people, she didn’t seem to get it, according to the singer.

The mother-of-two admitted to feeling as though she had lived the American dream, but needed to return home to Australia to reset herself and start anew, as she felt she was doing her Australian self a ‘disservice’.

prinnie said Saturday’s telegraph: ‘I could go on and do all these things in America, but I was just another brown girl there.

“But I knew that if I came home and did it my way, and was a proud Australian Polynesian woman on TV, I knew how I could make a difference.”

Prinnie also spoke about her childhood, explaining that school life was challenging, she said: “I was the only brown girl in school and they called me the N-word and there’s all the assumptions and stereotypes and things that people throw at you.” that make you insecure

“And now I can look back and walk away, I didn’t think I was good enough.”

Since returning to Australia, Prinnie has been on The Voice, Celebrity Apprentice and co-hosted The Voice Kids.

The singer has also been classified as a triple threat within the world of musical theater with incredible performances in London’s Thriller and Sydney’s Aladdin.

During Prinnie’s performance at the Sydney Festival, she will pay tribute to some of the great voices of our time, including Ella Fitzgerald and Aretha Franklin.