“I had no idea of being a star, all I knew was that I wanted to be a great actress, I wanted to work as an actress. So I thought the way I would be a great actress was to sing and dance first.”

I’m not interested in perfection. The universe is perfect, and there are some works of art that we see as perfect, but human beings aren’t perfect.

Image is everything, and the voice or the idea or the song is hardly anything at all. Half the time the person isn’t even doing the singing. I’m a bit cynical about this [music] business.

I never know how much of what I say is true.

We’re all divine, but I was the only one who had the nerve to call myself that.

Sold my soul. Bought these devil chains.

I want it all – and I would like it delivered.

It’s important that you all agree on what the parameters are and what you can accomplish – and not get pissed off or beat yourself up for what you can’t accomplish.

Me, I’m just a hack. I’m just a schlep-per. I just do what I can do.

You can’t just have a clean public space – you also have to have people willing to use it, and something that will draw them in.

I think the essence of humor has not changed. It’s all about surprise, facilitating follows. But the context of humor has changed.

The Internet has changed everything. People will be discovered online. People buy music online. It’s a completely different way to get entertainment.

Self-esteem is something you have to earn! The only way to achieve self-esteem is to work hard. People have an obligation to live up to their potential.

I’d make a wonderful Lady Macbeth. I’ll wear a pair of platform shoes or something.

I think most of us are torn. We have at least two people at war in our body. One person wants to retire and grow fabulous tomatoes, and the other wants to stand up on a pedestal and be worshipped and get bigger and bigger and bigger until she explodes.

Do you want to live and work in a garbage dump? I don’t. That’s partly because I grew up in the most pristine environment possible – Hawaii, where it is sacrilege to leave your garbage on the ground.

All these rumors about [Tom Cruise] being gay. I don’t believe it. I don’t believe it for one minute. He hasn’t been to one of my shows.

There was a time when I was enamored of the Clintons. I knocked on doors, phone-banked and rallied during his campaign.

Every day I watched how a bare metal frame, rolling down the line would come off the other end, a spanking brand new car.

I was never the girl next door.

The doors of the world are opened to people who can read.

Knowledge is the key that unlocks all the doors. You can be green-skinned with yellow polka dots and come from Mars, but if you have knowledge that people need, instead of beating you, they’ll beat a path to your door.

God has opened many doors of opportunity throughout my lifetime, but I believe the greatest of those doors was allowing me to be born in the United States of America.

There’s no such thing as useless knowledge. You never know what doors it’s going to open up for you.

I always pray for God’s guidance in my life and he always provides it. He opens the right doors he shuts the right doors. And I have tremendous faith in him. He just guided my career in an amazing way.