“I’ve never been damaged or hurt by press. It’s just that I think it’s unfair to use your name in media.”

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.

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

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.

Mankind has probably done more damage to the Earth in the 20th century than in all of previous human history.

You might be tough, but you can only be so tough for so long, you know what I mean? The brain can only take so much damage. The body can only take so much damage.

I am not stupid. I am a very bright guy. I know that in the fighting game, you get people who get brain damage and do themselves long-term harm.

The Government’s first priority on coming to office was to secure long-term economic stability and put an end to the damaging cycle of boom and bust.

Since then they have occurred more often, and 2008 was the most damaging of them all to date.

Drawing an object that has a certain amount of wear and tear or rust; or a tree that is damaged.

What if I told you your damage doesn’t define you and the way you survive is no one’s damned business?

Pain or damage don’t end the world.