Mariah Carey

“You really have to look inside yourself and find your own inner strength, and say, 'I'm proud of what I am and who I am, and I'm just going to be myself.'”

“Prince was one of the best people I've met. He didn't care about the big system. I was always like, at any time, Prince could write a No. 1 song because he's that talented, but he chooses to do what he wants. I respect that. He actually helped me through a lot of situations with his knowledge.”

“My brother and sister had a much worse childhood, I think, because they were older, and they had to deal with a lot more racism because they grew up in the '70s and I grew up more in the '80s. So they had to deal with crosses being burned on their lawn and their dogs being poisoned.”

“Butterflies are always following me, everywhere I go.”

“when you feel like hope is gone, look inside you and be strong and you'll finally see the truth- that hero lies in you.”

“I think the greatest gift to me is that I can express myself in songs. It helps me get through some of the hardest times of my life. It also helps me celebrate some of the best times.”

“My mother is Irish, my father is black and Venezuelan, and me - I'm tan, I guess.”

“I do all of my own stunts in videos. The Jet Ski scenes, the fight scenes, all of them!”

“A lot of rappers don't have to go through what I had to go through as a singer. I was always in a bubble that they put me in, but I was always punching out. It was a tough line to walk.”

“I try not to be a jerk. I really do. I try to be nice and cordial.”

“Marilyn Monroe Productions was the first female-owned production company in Hollywood. She paved the way for women in Hollywood, and every single woman owes something to her for that, whether they agree with her image or not.”

“Whatever you're going through in your life, don't ever give up.”

“I'm actually very loyal, to my detriment.”

“My heart has never been broken, I've never broken anyone else's.”

“One day I promised God that if he would give me my voice back I would never smoke again. I got three octaves back after quitting.”

“I wrote my own anthem: it's called 'Mariah's Theme.' It's on the 'Rainbow' album from '99. Back in the day.”

“I don't think anyone knows as much about what's right for me as I do.”

“I've been blessed to live my dream more than half my life, so I want help give that back to someone else.”

“Honestly, everybody gets talked about. Some people control their press a little more than others. Some people feed the press and move it the way they want to. I don't do that.”

“I could do my own nails... I went to beauty school in the 11th grade. But why would I do that now?”