“Sunglasses always hide a multitude of sins. Sunglasses and a great pair of heels can turn most outfits around.”

When I was on stage with the Spice Girls, I thought people were there to see the other four and not me.

I’m a very, very healthy eater. I eat lots of fish, lots of vegetables, lots of fruit. I don’t eat junk food.

You have to remember that when you are a performer you become a celebrity, but you are not saving lives. It’s not that important.

I think the sexiest thing about a woman is confidence, but confidence in a humble way, not in an arrogant way.

I don’t wear heels every day, but when I’m out, that’s how I feel confident.

Before I became famous I used to think there’s no smoke without fire. But believe me, there can be a fire without smoke.

When you’re in a position to be paparazzi-ed just walking down the street, you’d look a little daft if you were smiling all the time.

I have started smiling! I’ve mastered this smirk; it’s a smile that isn’t a smile.

The older you get, the more comfortable you become with yourself, and you accept what you have physically.

I’m very realistic. I know my boundaries – I know what I’m good at and what I’m not good at.

I can live with my own mistakes. I can’t live with anybody else’s.

Wearing short skirts while dancing to a manic routine without showing your knickers or looking indecent is a talent, as far as I’m concerned.

Fame is not like a jacket. You can’t put it on and then take it off.

I’m not shy about asking the customer, because I want to talk about who she is and what she wants from me.

If in doubt, anything looks good with a white shirt.

I love fashion, and that’s how I express myself.

When I travel around the country, I see great companies with new ideas and a can-do attitude. But too often they are in hand-to-hand and pen-to-paper combat with officialdom.

I’m not the king in my own house. I have to wash the dishes and take out the trash and say, ‘Yes, baby.’ I’m 6-foot-5, but I kind of walk around hunched over.

You going to traipse all around like you haves to find something lost. You going to work yourself up with excitement. Your heart going to beat hard enough to kill you because you don’t love and don’t have peace. And then some day you going to bust loose and be ruined.

You need an incredible amount of self-confidence to go digging around in someone’s brain.

I actually went to study with the Ramapoughs in New York. I wanted to be able to see the mountains and the forest, be around the people.

Christmas for me is all about spending time with my family. I cherish any chance we have to spend all day together making gingerbread houses, baking cookies, or sitting around and watching movies.

We don’t know what’s around the corner – and we must do everything to ensure we get our country’s debts down, building our resilience so we don’t repeat the mistakes of the past.

My father was obsessed with folk music from around the world, and I think the countless artists who performed them are my biggest influences.