I'm not that ambitious any more. I just like my privacy. I wish I really wasn't talked about at all.


My biggest nightmare is I'm driving home and get sick and go to hospital. I say: 'Please help me.' And the people say: 'Hey, you look like...' And I'm dying while they're wondering whether I'm Barbra Streisand.

To have ego means to believe in your own strength. And to also be open to other people's views. It is to be open, not closed. So, yes, my ego is big, but it's also very small in some areas. My ego is responsible for my doing what I do - bad or good.

I find George Bush and Dick Cheney frightening, Donald Rumsfeld and John Ashcroft frightening.

A man who graduated high in his class at Yale Law School and made partnership in a top law firm would be celebrated. A man who invested wisely would be admired, but a woman who accomplishes this is treated with suspicion.


I'd started going to acting classes at 14, played 'Medea' at 15 and really wanted to be a classical actress.

I also have intense relationships with furniture... probably because we practically had none when I was growing up.

I need instant gratification.

I always wear the same thing at home. I can't be bothered with jewelry. My pants have elastic waists. I like to be comfortable. There are so many more important things to worry about.

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.