[on the music video "Girls Just Want to Have Fun"] It was very important to me that every girl was represented - Hispanic girls, African-American girls. I told Edd (Griles - the video director) that we had to have multiracial people too. At that time, everybody who was in videos was either all white or all black. I figured, "You know what? Here's what I see missing. Let's go for it." There still wasn't as much integration as there should have been, but I feel like a lot of little girls who saw the video saw themselves, and that was the most important thing.

My mother said I was a little odd as a kid. I was alone a lot, but I didn't feel alone. When I sang with those records, I'd be Julie Andrews and there was Rex Harrison sitting on my mother's bed. I was Mitzi Gaynor. I was Ezio Pinza. I think she had Mary Martin too - I was all of them. I was pretty good until they sang duets.

When "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" came out, I was thirty. They were saying "How old are you?". And even then I was like "Why? You think I'm a car? You need to check under the hood and kick the tires?".

There have been great things that happened to me. If they didn't happen to me, I wouldn't be here. Everything was supposed to happen to me. I wouldn't have the sight that I have, I wouldn't have the creative moments that I have, I wouldn't be able to articulate what I need to articulate. I wouldn't have my son. I wouldn't have my husband. I'm a lucky woman. Everything. Every single thing. There are no mistakes.

(on her album "At Last") It was an idea to do a special project. because people would come see me live and go, "Gee, I didn't know she could sing." And I'd be like, "Yeah, you ever tried to sing 'Girls Just Wanna Have Fun', pal?".

You can't stamp out individuality - there's too many of us.

I lucked out when I started to sing. I'd already experienced failing at everything else

On being a feminist: I'm a bra-burner from way back!

You can laugh when I talk, but not when I sing. People used to throw rocks at me for my clothes... now they wanna know where I buy them.

I absolutely refuse to reveal my age. What am I - a car?

You always have to remember - no matter what you're told - that God loves all the flowers, even the wild ones that grow on the side of the highway.