For several years I worried a lot about protecting an image, but today, I have understood that the image cannot be preconceived.

The first years of a child's life are too important for a child's future - their development, earnings, behavior, and health - for anyone to ignore.

Sexy is good as long as it's not the main recipe. It's an ingredient. I would not appear in a leotard in a video if I [did] not have other dimensions.

In tough economic times, we have to make every dollar count, and studies have shown a return of up to $17 for every dollar invested in early childhood.

I always had the intuition, even as a little child, that I was called for a big project.

The goal of my philanthropic work has always been to make sure that every child has a chance to live up to his or her potential. That means our work won't be done until every child has access to quality education from early childhood to adulthood.

The music teacher thought I sang like a goat. It was kind of devastating. A few months after that, I participated in a music contest and won. I took my little trophy to school and rubbed it in his nose. I said to him, "What do you say now?"