I was never a singer, I can't play any instruments, I had no training. Plus, I was brought up in a time when all the great rock stars were male. I didn't have any template for what I was doing. I did what I did out of frustration and concern.

My public life was so demanding that I wasn't doing the things that I deemed the most important.

I know fashion is a material thing, but we live in a material world and I love clothes.

I never really wanted to be a singer - not with any longevity. But I always wanted to be a writer.

Those were the things on my mind [stay healthy, take care of my kids and reestablish a relationship with the people], not career, money, drugs, sex, alcohol or fun. Not that there's anything wrong with any of those things, but they aren't in the film [Dream of Life], because that wasn't my life at the time.

People say the media is feeding the public's hunger for celebrity news, but that's the drug pusher's mentality. I don't think anybody would be pining for news about Angelina Jolie's babies if it weren't being given to them in the first place.

I know from an early age that I'm very comfortable in front of people. When I was a young girl, I'd love giving book reports.