Madonna Ciccone

“People like it when others are gossiping. When you hear a story about someone's demise or some big faux-pas they made, everyone wants to tune into it, because it's nice to know that someone else made a mistake. It makes you feel elevated for a moment.”

“I guess some people are brilliant enough to be brilliant on their own and never doubt anything and come up with fabulous things. But I think it's good to get into arguments with people and have them say, 'That sucks' or 'You're crazy' or 'That's cheesy' or 'What do you think of this?'”

“I hate being called a pop star. I hate that.”

“I'm encouraging other people, whether they're professionals or not, to use their creativity to express themselves, to get a conversation going, to get the party started, really.”

“There are moments when I can't believe I'm as old as I am. But I feel better physically than I did 10 years ago. I don't think, Oh God, I'm missing something.”

“Poor is the man whose pleasures depend on the permission of another.”

“I like to think I'm a role model for women. But I also don't like to just limit it to women. I like to think I'm a role model for human beings in general.”

“I am the result of the good choices I've made and the bad choices.”

“You realise that having a number one record and being loved and adored isn't the most important thing in the world. But at the same time, I don't have a problem with it. What I'm trying to say is, I'm not a reluctant pop star.”

“Stevie Wonder and Diana Ross and the Jackson 5, that's what I grew up on.”

“I go to Malawi twice a year. It's where two of my children were adopted from, and I have a lot of projects there that I go and check up on and children who I look after. It's sort of a commitment that I've made to this country and the hundreds of thousands of children there who have been orphaned by AIDS.”

“If any of you have seen my shows, you know that I don't skimp on them and the same is true for the gym. We spend what it takes to make a globally first-class gym.”

“Because I was a dancer, I started going to auditions for musical theater, which forced me to sing.”

“I think my biggest flaw is my insecurity. I'm terribly insecure. I'm plagued with insecurities 24/7.”

“I believe that we are at a very low level of consciousness, and we do not know how to treat each other as human beings. We are caught up in our own lives, our own needs, our own ego gratification. I feel a strong sense of responsibility in delivering that message.”

“I'm opening gyms around the world to encourage people to get in shape and feel good about themselves; bringing art through dance to gyms to make my gyms different from other people's.”

“I didn't have many friends; I might not have had any friends. But it all turned out good in the end, because when you aren't popular and you don't have a social life, it gives you more time to focus on your future.”

“I refuse to act the way someone expects me to.”

“I'm a showgirl. After 20 years in show business, I've learned to roll with the punches.”

“I've always been acutely aware of differences and the way you are supposed to act if you want to be popular.”