My dad's family were political and he was always a theatrical creature, whereas my mum is really musical and her father was the touring pianist with Nat King Cole. My family was an explosive mixture of politics, religion and music - no wonder I turned out how I did.

My father would have been made a bishop much earlier than he was had it not been for me and my image.

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.

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

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.

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

My husband used to shout at my mother, 'What is wrong with your daughter? I'm married to a man.'

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

When you become such a strong personality in music, it's hard for people to accept you as a different character.

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

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

Women and men grow up with both sexes. Our mothers and fathers mean a lot to us, so it's just a question of finding a balance between their influences. I've found mine. And it tends to be more on the male side. I mean male side the way we understand it in the West.

My mother was a champion high-jumper. My three brothers are basketball players. We've all been very athletic.

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

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

When I was modelling, I spent half my life staring at thousands of perfect reflections. It got to a stage where I was losing all sense of reality - so after I quit modelling, I took all the mirrors out of my house.

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

Rock n' roll can get quite overwhelming. You can get caught up in the cycle.

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.

This is what I would say to my pupil: 'You have become only your fame and left behind most of who you were. How are you going to deal with that? Will you lose that person forever? Have you become someone else without really knowing it? Do you always have to stay in character for people to like you? Do you know that you are in character?'.

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

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

Gaga came to me, and I just could not find a soul. I come from church; maybe that has something to do with it. I like to get to the soul of a person. I just didn't feel a soul.