Thank God there were a couple of people in my life who said, "Go on, go on - you can do it!

Just like my father, I've always loved education. In school I was a member of the honor society.

You know, for me, the realization that two people should have the right to form a sacred union regardless of their gender was strengthened when I saw a performance of the play The Normal Heart in 1985. After feeling the love those two men had for each other, I dare anybody not to want them to get married by the end.

My mother never really thought I could become anything.

My friend Quincy Jones says we won our first Grammys together in 1963. I have no recollection. I don't even remember the room. When he showed me the picture, I remembered what I wore. But it's like awards don't mean anything.

The dream - you never achieve it. The excitement of life lies in the hope, in the striving for something rather than the attainment.

I love road trips! My husband and I love that. We bought a truck with a bench seat so we could put the dog in the middle.