Now when I enter a carriage, it almost empties. But there's always one brave enough to stay.

Now when I enter a carriage, it almost empties. But there's always one brave enough to stay.

Use, don't abuse.

Everyone has to make their own decisions. I still believe in that. You just have to be able to accept the consequences without complaining.

Models are there to look like mannequins, not like real people. Art and illusion are supposed to be fantasy.

Be like Sasha Fierce. Be like Miley Cyrus. Be like Rihanna. Be like Lady Gaga. Be like Rita Ora and Sia. Be like Madonna. I cannot be like them, except to the extent that they are already being like me.

For me, a diva is like the great opera singer, the great film star - out of reach, in their own world, with a real gift for invention: attention-demanding performance artists with a flamboyant, compelling sense of their own importance so special and inimitable it verges on the alien.

Growing up in Jamaica, the Pentecostal church wasn't that fiery thing you might think. It was very British, very proper. Hymns. No dancing. Very quiet. Very fundamental.

Hiding, secrets, and not being able to be yourself is one of the worst things ever for a person. It gives you low self-esteem. You never get to reach that peak in your life. You should always be able to be yourself and be proud of yourself.

Human beings should stick together. Honestly, if I see a red-haired person with blue eyes now, I say, 'Is your granny black?'

I always thought that feminine, softer side was just too vulnerable to put out there, because then it's like you're opening up a door for everybody to come in, and you don't know who's going to come in that door.

I am an actress first, a singer second.

I am not a diva: I am a Jones. 'Diva' is so overused. Diva, icons, the whole thing, legends... To be a diva, what is that?

I believe in individuality, that everybody is special, and it's up to them to find that quality and let it live.

I came from a very strict background, and didn't hear any Jamaican music when I was growing up.

I didn't think I had a voice at all, and I still think of myself as an interpreter of songs more than a singer. I thought it was too deep; people thought I was a man. I had a very strong Jamaican accent, too; the accent really messed me up for auditions.

I don't collaborate. You're born alone, you die alone, you get on stage alone.

I don't like people who hide things.

I don't like people who hide things. We're not perfect, we all have things that people might not like to see, and I like to show my faults.

I don't take the English press seriously at all because all they want is dirt... I hate them.

I don't think 'pop' should mean that you had no talent.

I don't wear jewelry, so I wear furs. I don't have diamonds.

I go feminine, I go masculine. I am both, actually. I think the male side is a bit stronger in me, and I have to tone it down sometimes. I'm not like a normal woman, that's for sure.

I have been so copied by those people who have made fortunes that people assume I am that rich. But I did things for the excitement, the dare, the fact that it was new, not for the money. And too many times I was the first, not the beneficiary.

I just go with the flow, I follow the yellow brick road. I don't know where it's going to lead me, but I follow it.

I like dressing like a guy. I love it. When I was modeling I used to do pictures where I would dress up like my little brother. No makeup, and I looked like a boy.

I like to experiment, and as an actress, I always thought it's good to be open about a lot of things.

I like to isolate myself when I work because I end up losing my voice by doing interviews all day.

I like to think of myself as a positive person. Otherwise I wouldn't have had a child.

I love women, but I've never had a relationship with a woman.

I loved all those classic figures from the '30s and '40s... Bette Davis, Joan Crawford, Humphrey Bogart, Rita Hayworth. They had such glamour and style. I loved the movies of those times too - so much attention paid to details, lights, clothing, the way the studios would develop talent.

I never do what anyone else is doing. I could walk away from music and become a farmer or do some crochet. The worst thing in life for me is to do something I'm not happy doing.

I never thought I was going to be a singer. That was an accident.

I see myself as no color. I can play the role of a man. I can paint my face white if I want to and play the role of white. I can play a green, I can be a purple. I think I have that kind of frame and that kind of attitude where I can play an animal.

I wanted to be a 'jungle mom', where you're giving birth and getting up and doing things straightaway.

I was a go-go dancer, too. I called myself 'Grace Mendoza' to fool my parents.

I was skinny as a rail and had high cheekbones and a very interesting face - or so I was told.

I was the only black girl at my junior high school. I had an afro, a Jamaican accent, I looked really old.

I would have rebelled against parental authority, no matter what. When I was 15, I started painting my face and making my own clothes.

I'm always rebelling. I don't think I'll ever stop.

I'm not a rock star; I'm a soft person.

I'm not as impatient as I used to be. I used to hit people if I didn't like what they were saying. Just lash out. 'Bam - shut up! Hahahah!' I was terrible.

I'm too vain, one of my biggest sins, but it saved me; I can see what excess does.

I've had more misrepresentations than I can handle, and people have told the wickedest lies about me. A lot of them have taken their frustrations out on me, and I don't like that because it can wound. Not necessarily me, but those around me. Journalists can be so bad.

I've turned down millions of dollars to go on reality TV. It's an absolute no-go.

If people think I'm angry, I don't want to burst anybody's bubble. I like sometimes for people to be afraid of me. But it's not really anger; it's discipline.

If you want me to work with you, then come with an idea. Come with music.

In the Seventies and Eighties we all had our fun, and now and then we went really too far. But, ultimately, it required a certain amount of clear thinking, a lot of hard work and good make-up to be accepted as a freak.

It was very painful combing my hair. My grand-uncle was a Pentecostal bishop, and he was very strict: our hair couldn't be permed or straightened. So I just cut it all off.