I was given away. If your mother gives you away, you think everybody who comes into your life is going to give you away.

The one thing I always knew about my mother was that she always loved me, ... And I give her tremendous credit for being able to, throughout our lives, let me know that she always loved me, and that was always unconditional.

I've always said to my men friends, If you really care for me, darling, you will give me territory. Give me land, give me land.

My recipe for life is not being afraid of myself, afraid of what I think or of my opinions.

The river is constantly turning and bending and you never know where it's going to go and where you'll wind up. Following the bend in the river and staying on your own path means that you are on the right track. Don't let anyone deter you from that.

I don't carry myself as a black person but as a woman that belongs to everybody. After all, it's the general public that made me - not any one particular group. So I don't think of myself as belonging to any particular group and never have.