“Mommy. It’s just the one thing you don’t want to mess up.”

Don’t push your weaknesses, play with your strengths.

I’m feeling lucky like a four-leaf clover.

You’ve got to love yourself first. You’ve got to be okay on your own before you can be okay with somebody else.

I like to maintain a certain sense of fantasy. At home, do I have the full hair and makeup? No. But I might have the nice dress on.

I came from the Bronx and a certain background. I worked really hard. I kept my focus on the right things.

And I love the idea of spending the whole day in bed with my lover.

You have got to love yourself first. You have got to be ok on your own before you can be ok with somebody else. You have got to value yourself and know that you are worth everything.

I swear to God, I don’t remember anything Gwyneth Paltrow was in. Some people get hot by association. I heard more about her and Brad Pitt and I ever heard about her work.

I feel I want to grow as an actress and be better. I want to progress as a singer and songwriter, and produce movies and everything. So there’ll be no time when I feel I’ve done it all.

You mirror what the world mirrors to you.

If you kiss on the first date and it’s not right, then there will be no second date. Sometimes it’s better to hold out and not kiss for a long time. I am a strong believer in kissing being very intimate, and the minute you kiss, the floodgates open for everything else.

People equate sexy with promiscuous. They think that because I’m shaped this way, I must be scandalous – like running around and bringing men into my hotel room. But it’s just the opposite.

You know, maybe I was just born in the wrong time, but I love all things romantic. Puffy understands that. For my last birthday, he covered my hotel room floor with rose petals and had flowers and candles all over the room.

I have to work, for my soul.

I just knew that was what I wanted to do. I was going to perform as a singer; I was going to perform as a dancer, and I was, you know, going to do movies and be an actress. I was going to do it or die trying. That’s what my life was.

When I am wrong, I will learn the lesson and move on to face other challenges. For me, that’s what creating your own life is. Doing your best work while being your best self.