Whitney Houston

“My mother was the first singer I had contact with. She sang constantly to us around the house, in church.”

“Being around people like Aretha Franklin and Gladys Knight, Dionne Warwick and Roberta Flack, all these greats, I was taught to listen and observe.”

“I like being a woman in a man's world. After all, men can't wear dresses, but we can wear the pants.”

“I'm the kind of person, if, if I have a day that is nerve-wracking, or my week has been bad or something's going down, I won't eat. Some people eat, I don't eat. And it shows in my physical frame.”

“I have a mother that's very strong and family that surround me and constantly tell me they love me.”

“You can fool people. You can fool anybody anytime of the day, but you can't fool yourself. At night, when you go home, you've got to be straight up with you.”

“I think over the years, being a mother, I've matured in so many ways.”

“I'm a person who has life and wants to live, and always have.”

“Nobody likes to be picked on. Nobody.”

“I decided long ago never to walk in anyone's shadow; if I fail, or if I succeed at least I did as I believe.”

“I would stay in my room for days, for days at times, just trying to get it together, to know what my next phase was going to be.”

“No one makes me do anything I don't want to do.”

“I've turned down a lot of arena dates because I've done the big-arena thing. Now, I want to do something where people can feel me and I can feel them.”

“I like being a woman, even in a man's world. After all, men can't wear dresses, but we can wear the pants.”

“I'm good where I am at this moment.”

“God gave me a voice to sing with, and when you have that, what other gimmick is there?”

“I've always been a thin girl. I'm not going to be fat, ever. Let's get that straight. Whitney is not going to be fat, ever. Okay?”

“From the beginning, the camera and I were great friends. It loves me, and I love it.”

“I love to sing, but it's just not fun anymore.”

“I'm just fiercely protective. It's like, that's my lair and nobody messes with my lair.”