I think it’s very important for me to work on myself while I’m working on a character, and also it’s important how I’m giving to and educating an audience. So I tend to go with people who are complex and substantive.

You have to find the peace and patience within yourself to be a model and an example to others and not judge.

Women don’t realize how powerful they are.

I’ve always felt that celebrity was wonderful for a lot of the perks that it could give you

You really have to listen to yourself and know if what someone is saying is true for you.

I couldn’t care less if someone is gay or straight.

Exactly Straight women who surround themselves only with gay men or white people who refuse any other race into their circles are unhealthy and it has more to do with one’s individual fear and individual closets.

I love being able to make people laugh.

I learned so much from Tony Danza I learned so much about myself.

But celebrity really doesn’t mean anything unless you use it for finding some way to give back and I’ve always felt that way.

Bigotry or prejudice in any form is more than a problem; it is a deep-seated evil within our society.

To me, celebrity doesn’t mean a whole lot unless you’re willing to use it. So I wanted to use it in a different way, with my AIDS work, the human rights stuff for the gay and lesbian community and the speaking I do

My weight went up and down like a yo-yo.

I was different and people made fun of me.

There are two things that I put my focus on. One is the fight against AIDS and finding a cure. The other is human rights.

You really have to listen to yourself and know if what someone is saying is true for you

Women don’t realize how powerful they are

The more we can purge ourselves of the diseases we create the more we can become magnificent people.

I got into theatre very early, so yes I was surrounded by gay people quite early and frequently.

The gay community just recognizes what their closets are and we straight have to spend years trying to figure out which closet we are trapped in.

You know, gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender – people are people.

When I became of service to other people I stopped worrying about my weight so much.

I found that the body, mind and spirit are all connected. They are not separate pieces.

To me, celebrity doesn’t mean a whole lot unless you’re willing to use it. So I wanted to use it in a different way, with my AIDS work, the human rights stuff for the gay and lesbian community and the speaking I do.

People can only do what they are ready to do when they are ready to do it.