Pop star Katy Perry's mom to speak in south Fort Myers

Pop singer Katy Perrys mother will be back in Fort Myers, where the family lived for a year in the mid-90s, for a benefit to help struggling women.

Perry, now 27, was 9 when her family was here.

With evangelical ministers Mary and Keith Hudson as parents, Perry may not have had a conventional beach-blanket childhood.

That may be the only similarity the singer, now worth a reported $11 million, may share with the struggling women and girls who will benefit from her mothers appearance at the $40-a-plate fundraiser for ACT and PACE on Tuesday at Ballyorney Irish Pub. Hudson will be here at the bidding of Ballyorney owner Brad Maloney, who will attend a Christian convention in Orlando with Mary and Keith Hudson a few days later.

The film Katy Perry: Part of Me, now at area theaters, sheds some light on that childhood. She and her siblings listened only to gospel music, says Perry, who early in her career began using her mothers maiden name to avoid confusion with actress Kate Hudson. Young Katheryn never dug into a box of Lucky Charms cereal, says her younger brother, David Hudson.

Luck was of Lucifer, he says. Wizard of Oz and Alice in Wonderland were banned in their childhood.

Hudson called her brand of religion charismatic Christian. For a year, in fact, the pair of preachers honed that program living in an apartment complex on Winkler Avenue Extension in Fort Myers. Their three children, including Angela, 29, Katy and David, 23, attended Fort Myers Christian School from 1994-95.

Her message is not Pentacostal, she said.

That sounds like buns and no makeup, Hudson said.

She dismisses the frequently inflammatory headlines which charge that she has said her daughter has fallen, that her breakout single I Kissed a Girl is disgusting as amazing stuff that comes out on the Internet and lies that people make up. Shed rather none of it be repeated even to be denied, she said. And thats not on mandate from her daughters handlers; its because we have ! a lot of unity in our family and a lot of love.

She said her message Tuesday will be based on the teachings of her womens ministry, Arise International.

The main thing is you can look at your circumstances or you can look up, no matter what you are going through you always have something to be thankful for, Hudson said.