Billie Holiday 1915-59

When did you first hear about Holiday?

- Singer, actor, author and filmmaker Pauline Black chooses

I was studying to be a radiographer in my twenties when a fellow student mentioned Billie. I bought a Billie Holiday record that same day, and I've been a fan ever since.

What kind of woman was she?

Some people see her as a victim, hounded by the FBI over her drug use; others prefer to see her as a political activist who sang one of the first songs about a lynching. You have to view her drug and alcohol use in the context of her turbulent childhood. Her mother was just a teenager when she gave birth to Billie, who was raped as a child, sent to a Catholic reform school for girls and subsequently became a sex worker.

What made her a hero?