“Sex is like washing your face – just something you do because you have to. Sex without love is absolutely ridiculous. Sex follows love, it never precedes it.”

You really have to be satisfied with what you are and accept from life what it still very generously offers you – and notice it, and be glad for it.

You must all, somewhere deep in your hearts, believe that you have a special beauty that is like no other and that is so valuable that you must not abandon it. Indeed, you must learn to cherish it.

When you are a mother, you are never really alone in your thoughts. A mother always has to think twice, once for herself and once for her child.

I believe that rewards in life are deserved. Every reward is the fruit of discipline, of dedication and of sacrifices. And of stubbornness.

Mistakes are a part of the dues one pays for a full life.

Luck assists fortune, you need to catch the moment. Otherwise the opportunity fades.

I know how to say ‘no’ in twelve languages. That’s enough for a woman.

A woman’s dress should be like a barbed-wire fence: serving its purpose without obstructing the view.

And as I walk round the park I always think, ‘Maybe round the corner I am going to find something beautiful.’ I always think positively. It is very rare that you find me in a mood that is sad or melancholic.

I think the quality of sexiness comes from within. It is something that is in you or it isn’t and it really doesn’t have much to do with breasts or thighs or the pout of your lips.

I still don’t know what I want to do when I grow up.

As far as beauty is concerned, in order to be confident we must accept that the way we look and feel is our own responsibility.

After all these years, I am still involved in the process of self-discovery. It’s better to explore life and make mistakes than to play it safe. Mistakes are part of the dues one pays for a full life.

Transformation is something I cannot explain – too much analysis might destroy it.

You can always dream. Life is full of dreams that you can fulfill.

Many people think they want things, but they don’t really have the strength, the discipline. They are weak. I believe that you get what you want if you want it badly enough.

In the face of impossible odds, people who love this country can change it.

All men are the same. They just have different faces so that women differentiate them.

I want to grow old without facelifts. I want to have the courage to be loyal to the face I have made.

Face your deficiencies and acknowledge them; but do not let them master you. Let them teach you patience, sweetness, insight.

To keep our faces toward change, and behave like free spirits in the presence of fate, is strength undefeatable.

Let no one ever come to you without leaving better and happier. Be the living expression of God’s kindness: kindness in your face, kindness in your eyes, kindness in your smile.

In the faces of men and women, I see God.

Let’s face it, a nice creamy chocolate cake does a lot for a lot of people; it does for me.