Rachel Stevens on how she handles her daughter following in her famous footsteps

Rachel Stevens has said she is “encouraging but not pushy” with her daughter. who has begun to follow in her famous footsteps.

The former S Club 7 singer, 44, is the mother of two daughters Minnie, eight, and 11-year-old Amelie, who is starring as young Cosette in Les Miserables in the West End.

In an interview with Hello! magazine, Stevens spoke of her pride in her children and how she is trying to pass along the advice she has picked up from her time in the entertainment industry.

She said: “Amelie really does lead this herself – I’m encouraging but not pushy, and from all the learning I’ve taken from my career, I try to give her the best advice I can and be there to answer her questions.”

The singer added that she has told both her daughters that someone might open the door for them, but that they have to be the ones to “go through and prove what you can do”.

“Who knows where life will take Amelie, but as long as she’s doing something she’s passionate about and she’s happy, as her mum, that’s all I could wish for,” she added.

Amelie, who accompanied her mother for the photoshoot, said the best advice her mother has given her is to “never give up on your dreams” and that if you “put your mind to something you love, you can do anything”.

The young rising star said she does find it “really weird” and “funny” to think that her mother was a pop star before she was born.

She added: “It is cool that I have a mum that’s famous. I love watching the videos of S Club 7.”

Stevens found fame as part of the chart-topping band between 1999 and 2003 and later embarked on a successful solo career.

The singer said she was roughly the same age as her daughter when she went to a Kylie Minogue concert, which changed her life.

Recalling the gig, she said: “I was in awe; I was spellbound. And I will never forget saying to my mum ‘That’s what I want to do one day’.”

Years later, aged 19, she had a chance encounter with a couple of music producers in the canteen of Sony Records, where her younger brother worked, which started her journey with the beloved noughties band.

Stevens said: “It was one of those ‘meant to be’ moments, I guess – and in a way, that’s what happened to Amelie.”

The singer had Amelie and Minnie with her former husband, Alex Bourne.

Read the full article in Hello! magazine, out now.