I was born wise. Street-wise, people-wise, self-wise. This wisdom was my birthright.

I've never tried to block out the memories of the past, even though some are painful. I don't understand people who hide from their past. Everything you live through helps to make you the person you are now.

I have my own peculiar yardstick for measuring a man: Does he have the courage to cry in a moment of grief? Does he have the compassion not to hunt an animal? In his relationship with a woman, is he gentle? Real manliness is nurtured in kindness and gentleness, which I associate with intelligence, comprehension, tolerance, justice, education, and high morality. If only men realized how easy it is to open a woman's heart with kindness, and how many women close their hearts to the assaults of the Don Juans.

My philosophy is that it's better to explore life and make mistakes than to play it safe and not to explore at all.

A woman's dress should be like a barbed-wire fence: serving its purpose without obstructing the view.

When I'm walking along in the street, I always feel that around the corner,there is something wonderful waiting for me. That's my attitude.

The most indespensible ingredient of all good home cooking: love for those you are cooking for.