I have to keep working because, although I have land, I'm not cash rich and don't have the wealth of high-profile actresses - don't say I'm an 'actor.' That's a bit too modern.

I wish I had a million in the bank. I like round figures. I am a round figure.

I'd have thought my particular brand of quirkiness, combined with sharp intelligence and a fine voice, would have yielded more. But it hasn't. Yet!

I cannot accept violence.

I believe Jews are compassionate people because of what we've suffered. We must not put that suffering onto others.

It makes me very sad. Everyone's afraid of each other - Jews are afraid of Palestinians, Palestinians are afraid of Jews. Everywhere I see fear, not understanding. Reason went out of the window a long time ago.

I was terribly upset not to be in 'Dickensian,' so I pretend to look down on it. The part I should have played, Mrs. Gamp, is done brilliantly by Pauline Collins, but I entered this world for no other reason than to play that part.

Everything's harder for women: harder to start, to stay employed, to run a life with a family.

I've been very lucky - I've worked consistently, and I haven't had to kiss a lot of people on stage.

I can't recall a bad review - maybe I'm due one. But the worst thing would be if somebody said I was inaudible. Reach your audience's ears - only then can you reach their hearts.

I very much regret that I haven't been taken more seriously. I would love to have been at the National or the RSC.

I don't understand why gay people are so anxious to get married.

I support children's charities; I just don't want them around me. It's not very admirable, but it's the truth.

Anti-Semitism is a rotten thing. It's an ignorant, stupid, horrible thing. As is anti-Muslim feeling. They have to be together.

I want people to be open to the idea of sitting down and reading a Dickens book. They will also have a great time.

What most infuriates me is the cell phones. If I see someone texting during the show, I walk off the stage.

Where I think the American actor is slightly at a disadvantage is in vocal technique. I don't think that words are their friend in the same way that English actors are used to using words: understanding about consonance and how to shade a vowel to show emotional color.

The American actor is much more used to being physically relaxed and using their bodies better, and English actors are a little bit unrelaxed, but they're better at vocal technique.

I studied English literature in university, and then I went straight into radio.

Being in Australia makes me happy. My partner is Australian, and my home is in Australia, and it's ridiculous not to be Australian - it's a logical step to take.

I am not the sort of person who divests myself of everything that came before I came to Australia. I want to take all the knowledge and experiences I gained when I was in England and put it at the service of Australia because I have to bring something to Australia - not just money but myself.

It would be absurd to say I'm not British - you can hear it when I speak.

One of the worst things about ageing is the waning of your physical powers. I live in a house with 64 stairs, and I cannot run up and down them any more; my knee has conked out.

Getting older is a hideous experience; I'm so glad I only have to do it once. But I've kept my mind, my career, my relationship, and I have enough money - I've been blessed.

My looks have changed, but I was never beautiful, so I'm not any less beautiful now.

Music should be your escape.

I know that some people shy away from what I say. They think it is too blunt, but when you don't give people that, they feel like you are being fake and you're not telling the truth. So it's like, you want me to tell the truth, but when I do, it's too much for you.

Rule number one in negotiating anything with Missy is never try and run me over. Never push me, because I am a very strong woman. I'm nice, but I'm very strong. When it gets down gritty, I can get grittier. Never, ever underestimate me.

I think it's being innovative and very creative to stay away from flat-out sampling somebody else's record. To me, that doesn't show too much of your creative side unless you take a little piece and add it, almost like spice on a chicken.

When you are creating to the magnitude that I try to create, your brain is like a computer, and you need to refresh.

I want kids of this generation to see that everything is cool, that there's some kind of unity in hip-hop. We all found something that's really important to us, and music is all we've really got.

I felt like, 'How do I fit in?' But then I never fit in. The whole time, I've never fit in.

Women are not always taken as seriously as we should be, so sometimes we have to put our foot down.

Maybe I should find myself one of those sexy British soccer stars. David Beckham is hot. But I've got a hell of a lot of competition.

The person I eventually find will have to like me and my style.

You get people who rap about stuff that they don't do all day long. Half those guys, you hear them on the radio, and then you meet them, and you're like, 'Wow. They're so sweet.'

I feel like, O.K., if I can make it as a singer, then let me try rapping. If I can make it as a rapper, then let me try writing. All right? If I make it as a rap singer and writer, then why not try to produce? I don't feel limited in any way.

Seeing my mother become very strong and very independent had a huge impact on me.

I don't think Puffy knows what he did for hip-hop. Because he intertwined hip-hop and R&B so that people weren't intimidated.

Now everybody's sampling.

My imagination is so far out there already. People couldn't imagine what goes on in my brain.

Before Missy, there was no comparison to what Missy was doing.

When I'm in the studio, I like to be in there by myself because if I'm in the mike room, and I look out and see people talking, or they're not nodding their head or rocking to the music, it makes me feel like it don't sound good, or I'll be scared to really open up vocally because I might mess up, and they might be in there laughing.

No, I'm a flirtatious person; I'll flirt all day long, but it really is hard to get into that when I'm so into the music, and I'm in the studio all day long and all night sometimes. That's not an exaggeration.

I was very disturbed to find that a few people were angry at my weight loss.

Music is a male-dominated field. Women are not always taken as seriously as we should be, so sometimes we have to put our foot down.

I try not to be cruel to people. I know there's a karma, and I'm constantly thinking of my blessings. I live and die by being a Baptist. If I can't go to church on a Sunday, I'll get a tape by the Clark Sisters and slide it in for the day.

It's just that back then we didn't know that was considered being a coproducer. I would sit on the side and say what I wanted musically, but at the time we thought if you aren't the one playing it, you don't get the credit. Now you'll start seeing my name listed as producer.

I talked about my father being abusive to my mother - people have never heard me talk about anything like that. That brings people a little bit more personal with Missy.

I'd stand on the side of the road when I was just a little girl singing on trash cans. People would roll down their windows saying, 'Isn't she cute'. I had a vivid imagination. I always pretended it was some big stage.