Beyonce Knowles

I grew up upper-class. Private school. My dad had a Jaguar. We're African-American, and we work together as a family, so people assume we're like the Jacksons. But I didn't have parents using me to get out of a bad situation.

When you really don't like a guy, they're all over you, and as soon as you act like you like them, they're no longer interested.

We all have our imperfections. But I'm human, and you know, it's important to concentrate on other qualities besides outer beauty.

If I weren't performing, I'd be a beauty editor or a therapist. I love creativity, but I also love to help others. My mother was a hairstylist, and they listen to everyone's problems - like a beauty therapist!

We all have special numbers in our lives, and 4 is that for me. It's the day I was born. My mother's birthday, and a lot of my friends' birthdays, are on the fourth; April 4 is my wedding date.

To be able to travel the world, especially to places I never thought I'd be... it's really, you know, still fascinating for me.

The great thing about McDonald's is that they have a lot of different things on the menu. I love their salads.

Whenever I'm confused about something, I ask God to reveal the answers to my questions, and he does.

I truly believe that women should be financially independent from their men. And let's face it, money gives men the power to run the show. It gives men the power to define value. They define what's sexy. And men define what's feminine. It's ridiculous.

I remember being in Japan when Destiny's Child put out 'Independent Women,' and women there were saying how proud they were to have their own jobs, their own independent thinking, their own goals. It made me feel so good, and I realized that one of my responsibilities was to inspire women in a deeper way.

We're African-American and we work together as a family, so people assume we're like the Jacksons. But I didn't have parents using me to get out of a bad situation.

For me, it's about the way I carry myself and the way I treat other people. My relationship and how I feel about God and what He does for me, is something deeply personal. It's where I came from, my family, I was brought up in a religious household and that's very important to me.

I discovered after going to music festivals that I am a rock fan. I love the guitars, the phrasing, and the abandon of rock fans.

Tina Turner is someone that I admire, because she made her strength feminine and sexy.

Tina Turner is someone that I admire, because she made her strength feminine and sexy. Marilyn Monroe, because she was a curvy woman. I'm drawn to things that have the same kind of silhouettes as what she wore because our bodies are similar.

I wanted to be famous for my music and my talent, and I always wished I could cut it out when I left the stage.

Power means happiness power means hard work and sacrifice.

When you love and accept yourself, when you know who really cares about you, and when you learn from your mistakes, then you stop caring about what people who don't know you think.