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

I am a mother and I know the feeling of having a baby come out of my gut.

I never identified with anybody. I have always been very sensitive about my color, because everybody called me 'yellow gal.' I was caught in between both sides - nobody wanted me. I love that my audience is there, but I always feel as though I have to fend for myself.

The public has become my fairy godmother.

I'm an orphan. But the public has adopted me, and that has been my only family. The biggest family in the world is my fans.