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.

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

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?

I've got some good saints out there - that's right - that pray for me constantly. You've gotta have that! You do.

My daughter is my greatest inspiration.

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

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

What's in your soul is in your soul.

When I decided to be a singer, my mother warned me I'd be alone a lot. Basically we all are.

No, I'm not a drug addict, and neither is my husband. If that were so, you'd get a lot less work out of me. It would show in the performances and in the work.

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.

In grammar school some of the girls had problems with me. My face was too light. My hair was too long. It was the black-consciousness period, and I felt really bad.

I finally faced the fact that it isn't a crime not having friends. Being alone means you have fewer problems.

My mother taught me that when you stand in the truth and someone tells a lie about you, don't fight it.

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

When I decided to be a singer, my mother warned me I'd be alone a lot. Basically we all are. Loneliness comes with life.

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.

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

I'm not crazy about arenas just because I can sell them out. It doesn't do anything for my ego at all. I want to play places where people don't have to sit in the nosebleed seats and wonder what the hell is going on.

I believe that children are our future. Teach them well and let them lead the way. Show them all the beauty they possess inside.