Billie Holiday had a rough life. Abandoned by her parents, she quit school in the fifth grade to take a job as a maid and gofer in a New York brothel. At 16, she became a dancer in a Harlem nightclub. One night, she was asked to sing. In her words, "The whole joint quieted down. If someone had dropped a pin, it would have sounded like a bomb." For the rest of her life, Billie Holiday sang professionally, usually from midnight to dawn, and started doing recordings with the finest musicians in America: Benny Goodman, Louie Armstrong, Teddy Wilson, Fletcher Henderson, Count Basie, Artie Shaw, Lester Young, Stan Kenton and Duke Ellington. She was probably the best jazz singer who ever lived. She was an early pot smoker, graduated to coke and heroin, drank too much and slept with too many men. She even spent some important prison time, at Alderson Federal Penitentiary in West Virginia. Why then is she a FECHA saint? Considering her abject beginnings, she did the best she could, and her best was often better than anyone else in the world.

MODEL: Her courage. Do the best you can do with what you have. That's all you can do.

Can't stand still. If you were born on April 7, you approach everything you do with great enthusiasm. Your energy is often wasted on rebelliousness and recklessness in your youth. You'll probably settle down as the years add up. Ruled by the number 7 and the planet Neptune, you are restless and seek change.

Mid-life crisis. You may reach a spiritual or emotional crossroads where you have to make some darn big decisions. If you handle this period with maturity and grace, you're in for even more fun and fulfillment in life. You may learn to stop throwing yourself at life and just let it come to you.

Spiritual direction. You are sensitive to the positive energy of others and have the ability to direct it toward social or religious goals. You may develop a religious attitude toward the world, whether you go to church on Sundays or not. Beware of turning others off with this approach. Not everyone shares your beliefs or likes to be preached to.

Count on you? Less evolved people born on April 7 may seem reliable, but when the stuff hits the fan, they're nowhere to be seen. They may harbor a bit of that rebelliousness and anger that others outgrew, and need to lighten up and be more realistic.

Some advice: Don't knock people over with your enthusiasm and energy. Let people react at their own speed and make their own choices. Try to be more practical.

Also born on this day: Buddha (traditional birthday) William Wordsworth (British poet) Billie Holiday (jazz singer) Francis Ford Coppola (director, producer) Jerry Brown (CA governor, presidential candidate) Ravi Shankar (Indian sitarist) John McGraw (NY Giants manager for 30 yrs) Tony Dorsett (football running back) James Garner (actor) Joel Robuchon (French chef) David Frost (British TV interviewer) Buster Douglas (upset Tyson for heavyweight crown)