Catholicism is not a soothing religion. It's a painful religion. We're all gluttons for punishment.

Poor is the man whose pleasures depend on the permission of another.

Things were a lot simpler in Detroit. I didn't care about anything but boyfriends.

Catholicism is not a soothing religion. It's a painful religion. We're all gluttons for punishment.

There are moments when I can't believe I'm as old as I am. But I feel better physically than I did 10 years ago. I don't think, Oh God, I'm missing something.

I'm tough, I'm ambitious, and I know exactly what I want. If that makes me a bitch, okay.

A lot of places I go are dangerous, like Tel Aviv or Rio, but that never stops me from going there and putting on a show. I have good security. I don't worry about that.

I think in the end, when you're famous, people like to narrow you down to a few personality traits. I think I've just become this ambitious, say-whatever's-on-her-mind, intimidating person. And that's part of my personality, but it's certainly not anywhere near the whole thing.

I stand for freedom of expression, doing what you believe in, and going after your dreams.

I always felt like I was a freak when I was growing up and that there was something wrong with me because I couldn't fit in anywhere.

If any of you have seen my shows, you know that I don't skimp on them and the same is true for the gym. We spend what it takes to make a globally first-class gym.

I always thought I should be treated like a star.

I'm not interested in being Wonder Woman in the delivery room. Give me drugs.

If I was a girl again, I would like to be like my fans, I would like to be like Madonna.

In this business, my business, I get to meet all kinds of incredible people, fascinating people, glamorous people and sexy people and highly intellectual people. And you meet them and you go 'interesting, interesting, interesting'. They're interesting, but not very many people stop you in your tracks.

I suppose I sometimes used to act like I wasn't a human being... Sometimes I look back at myself and remember things I used to say, or my hairstyle, and I cringe.

I go to Malawi twice a year. It's where two of my children were adopted from, and I have a lot of projects there that I go and check up on and children who I look after. It's sort of a commitment that I've made to this country and the hundreds of thousands of children there who have been orphaned by AIDS.

Prince Charles is very relaxed at the table, throwing his salad around willy-nilly. I didn't find him stiff at all.

People hear the soul, black influence in my voice. I grew up listening to CKLW and all the black stations like WLBS.

My father was very strong. I don't agree with a lot of the ways he brought me up. I don't agree with a lot of his values, but he did have a lot of integrity, and if he told us not to do something, he didn't do it either.

But I love the idea - whether it's in my work or where I live - exploring new frontier, and I like putting myself in strange places and trying to survive and figure things out and gather up an infrastructure. I like knowing that I could figure out a way to live anywhere.

I guess some people are brilliant enough to be brilliant on their own and never doubt anything and come up with fabulous things. But I think it's good to get into arguments with people and have them say, 'That sucks' or 'You're crazy' or 'That's cheesy"'or 'What do you think of this?'

As an artist myself, I know what it's like to put your heart and soul into something. You can feel the presence of another person.

Be strong, believe in freedom and in God, love yourself, understand your sexuality, have a sense of humor, masturbate, don't judge people by their religion, color or sexual habits, love life and your family.

Because I was a dancer, I started going to auditions for musical theater, which forced me to sing.

Being famous has changed a lot, because now there's so many outlets, between magazines, TV shows, and the Internet, for people to stalk and follow you. We created the monster.

Everybody in our family studied a musical instrument. My father was really big on that. Somehow I only took a year or two of piano lessons and I convinced my father to let me take dancing lessons.

Growing up, I didn't feel cool; I didn't fit into any crowd.

I am my own experiment. I am my own work of art.

I am the result of the good choices I've made and the bad choices.

I believe sometimes we aren't always in charge of everything that we do creatively. We submit to things as we're going on our own journey.

I believe that we are at a very low level of consciousness, and we do not know how to treat each other as human beings. We are caught up in our own lives, our own needs, our own ego gratification. I feel a strong sense of responsibility in delivering that message.

I didn't have many friends; I might not have had any friends. But it all turned out good in the end, because when you aren't popular and you don't have a social life, it gives you more time to focus on your future.

I don't go to the sale rack. But I wouldn't say I am decadent in my spending. I am careful.

I don't like rooms you never use or that are wasted space but I also like a sparseness and a cleanness.

I get strength from my art - all the paintings I own are powerful.

I grew up in a high school where it was very conservative, and I felt like people disapproved of me, and I felt like an outsider.

I guess some people are brilliant enough to be brilliant on their own and never doubt anything and come up with fabulous things. But I think it's good to get into arguments with people and have them say, 'That sucks' or 'You're crazy' or 'That's cheesy' or 'What do you think of this?'

I had decided that if I was going to be a singer, I had to earn it. I had to learn how to play an instrument.

I hate being called a pop star. I hate that.

I have a funny relationship with religion. I'm a big believer in ritualistic behavior as long as it doesn't hurt anybody. But I'm not a big fan of rules. And yet, we cannot live in a world without order.

I have my work and my faith... If that's boring to some people, I can't tell you how much I don't care.

I have the same goal I've had ever since I was a girl: I want to rule the world.

I hope that I inspire women to believe in themselves, no matter where they come from; no matter what education they have; what particular background they originate from.

I just find the people I want to work with and put it all together, and it's a lot of hard work, and all kinds of catastrophes happen, but I don't really get too much resistance. But when you make a movie, it seems like there's nothing but resistance. It's kind of a miracle that any movie ever gets made.

I know I'm not the greatest singer or dancer, but that doesn't interest me. I'm interested in being provocative and pushing people's buttons.

I like to change. A new lamp, a piece of art, can transform a room.

I like to think I'm a role model for women. But I also don't like to just limit it to women. I like to think I'm a role model for human beings in general.

I live - I live a highly scheduled life. There's absolutely no time wasted. I'm very focused. And I have a great assistant.