Nicki Minaj

I love artists who take risks-I think they inspire everybody else about horrible situations that no one wants to discuss.

Do you know how many women get systematically blackballed out of their positions in an office building and can’t fight back?

I’m my worst critic and I always want to give people something better than I gave them before.

I love being able to say, I’m not American, I’m Trini. I think it gives me so much more depth.

The truth of the matter is, trap has taken over so much that even our New York rappers are doing nothing but trap songs, because they feel that that’s the way to make it.

I feel like true icons shift music, uplift music, switch music, have the balls to take a chance.

I grew up in Tennessee. We didn’t know what Louis Vuitton was. I had to order all my prom outfits out of catalogs.

Take it easy, be a sport. Just remeber life is short.

I have Faith Popcorn on retainer. I’m sorry-what I meant to say is that I have popcorn stuck in my retainer.

I have talked to Debbie Hammond quite a bit, Jim Hammond’s wife, his widow. I’ve seen their kids. And last time we played Dallas, a lot of them came over. It’s hard for them to come see the show. It’s still hard.

As you get older, your fingers sometimes swell. But I’ve missed 18 days in 65 years. Sometimes guys will just take off; I’ve never done that. If I’m booked to play, I go and play.

Because every person, no matter who you are-how tall you are, how short you are-some things work on you and some things don’t. I don’t like to wear things that feel like costumes. Whenever I work with a stylist, I always find myself saying the same thing: ‘I want my dress to say, I’m just here from New York.’ That’s why I always end up in black or brown. If I try to wear too much color, I feel like I’m pretending to be from Los Angeles and I’m not getting away with it.

The difference between male comedy writers and female comedy writers is that the male ones are taller and weigh more.

I think movies are great and I have a great time making them but they’re not what keeps you warm at night, or what’s ultimately the most important thing in anyone’s life journey.

[on acting] Sometimes I think, ‘To hell with acting’ and then I realize I could be working at a shoe shop. Acting is much cooler.

I’m a lot taller than I look on television and younger, and for the role of David Brent I wore a fat suit under my shirt and trousers. Really I’m about 25 and about 6′ 1 tall. So that’s probably why you don’t recognize me in the street.

There aren’t any hard women, only soft men.

Lipgloss is my calling!

If you retain nothing else, always remember the most important rule of beauty, which is: who cares?

I have three other siblings, so it’s all very equal – even when I get a little cocky, which I usually do. My brother keeps me in a headlock. He says that I’m not a celebrity in this house.

Sick of all these people talking, sick of all this noise. Tired of all these cameras flashing, sick of being poised.