“The first time I heard a Billie Holiday record, I thought, ‘What’s so great about Billie Holiday?’”

What’s important for me is to give my daughters a well-rounded education and a mixture of people in their lives. They’ll make their own choices. I think they would be good in show business.

I really, deeply believe that dreams do come true. Often, they might not come when you want them. They come in their own time.

I really think I want to live in a lot of places.I don’t want possessions to hold me down.

My family called me a wiggle tail because I was a little skinny, wiry kid full of energy.

Being a parent is very important to me.

I want to live in Paris for a couple of years. I’m dying to do the Josephine Baker story. I really want to be there and do it. It’s certainly my intention to do it.

I just appreciate still having the longevity that I’ve had in my career.

I have three girls, and I say the same thing to them. I’m not involved in their careers because I’ve learned that it’s important for them to stand on their own two feet. They’ll feel better and prouder of themselves if they do.

I know that my fans want to know who I’m sleeping with, but it’s really none of their business.

If I’m with a man I’m soft and buttery.

It takes a long time to get to be a diva. I mean, you gotta work at it.

I don’t judge people by their sexual orientation or the color of their skin, so I find it really hard to identify someone by saying that they’re a gay person or a black person or a Jewish person.

I don’t care about vacations. I go away and I come back real quick because I like my work. I really like my work to consume me.

I’m not really a songwriter – I’m an interpreter. So in a sense I am an actress first and foremost. I act out the songs, and I lead with my heart.

It has always been, and still is, my intention to build a playground in Central Park.

One thing you cannot control is nature.