I approached everything my job my family my romances with intensity.

I just want to be healthy and stay alive and keep my family going and everything and keep my friends going and try to do something so that this world will be peaceful. That is the most ambitious and the most difficult thing but I'm there trying to do it.

Only solitary men know the full joys of frienship. Others have their family but to a solitary and an exile his friends are everything.

I had a really wonderful upbringing. We were a tight family. It was wonderful to grow up with so many siblings. We were all just a year or two apart and we were always so supportive of each other. I learned everything from my older brother and sister and taught it to my younger sisters.

In my particular instance I came from a family that didn't have anything. Everything I earned in life I made. Myself. With songs that I wrote.

My mom has made it possible for me to be who I am. Our family is everything. Her greatest skill was encouraging me to find my own person and own independence.

The fact that food plays such an important part in my films has everything to do with my family.

It did remind me of something out of Greek mythology - the richest king who gets everything he wants but ultimately his family has a curse on it from the Gods.

I grew up in a family that was multifaceted sexually oriented and pretty much open to everything. And because I was working my friends were all adults. I had a tough time going to different schools because people knew me from films and I was the fat child who got beaten up every day.

Over the last couple of years I've really worked toward balancing my life out more having a little bit more time with friends family and my boyfriend. There was a period of time when they were way down the list. It was all about music and touring and if everything fell by the wayside so be it.