Jennifer Holliday

“Haven't a lot of us just missed at a lot of things and thought that we wouldn't have another chance at it? So we give up early.”

“Some people run away from things.”

“I'm not like Stephanie Mills or Whitney Houston with actual hits. My fans think everything I did was a hit.”

“I had ballooned out to close to 400 pounds at one point. And in the '80s, we were just beginning to get on video and disco. So therefore, I did not fit in, and my record company let me go because they said, 'Look, you're just not marketable enough with the weight problem.'”

“Back in the day, if someone at the record label didn't care or like your music, it never got to the public. It just got shelved.”

“Usually, if someone wants an inspiring-type number - patriotic, gospel, big love song - then I think you do think of me.”

“I am, you know, really fighting for myself and my life. And I think the message that I could give to anybody is that it's never too late to start your life again and dream new dreams.”

“The LGBT Community was mostly responsible for birthing my career, and I am deeply indebted to you... You have loved me faithfully and unconditionally, and for so many years you provided me with work even though my star had long since faded.”

“Either you can sing, or you can't.”

“For a long time, they thought I had lupus, then they thought I had something else. Finally, when I couldn't walk, they did a spinal tap and conclusively diagnosed me with M.S.”

“It was a very hard decision to let people know about the multiple sclerosis because we're in an industry where illness is not something that show business likes.”

“I continually still fight every day for my life, not only still battling mental health problems but battling multiple sclerosis, which also has depression as one of its side effects.”

“I have health challenges, I have life challenges, just like everyone else.”

“When I was with Geffen Records, I weighed almost 400 pounds. The label told me that I had a great voice but wasn't marketable having a weight image.”

“When I was suffering with depression, people weren't talking about depression. It had a stigma.”

“Aretha Franklin, first and foremost... That's my top girl there.”

“The music industry is a very rough industry. Many years ago, I think it was even rougher in the sense that a lot of it was predicated on image.”

“A lot of my die-hard fans think I have a lot of hits, but I don't.”

“The biggest thing I've had to overcome was clinical depression. Your mind is the most powerful weapon you have once you can get control of your mind... I had to stop hearing the negative voices where Jennifer was not worthy of love or living.”

“A lot of times we base everything just on our immediate circumstance. We don't see a big picture for our lives. We don't love ourselves. We don't have a way of kind of gauging the future.”