In the Seventies and Eighties we all had our fun, and now and then we went really too far. But, ultimately, it required a certain amount of clear thinking, a lot of hard work and good make-up to be accepted as a freak.
Everyone has to make their own decisions. I still believe in that. You just have to be able to accept the consequences without complaining.
Most performers take themselves too seriously. They forget there is a difference between the characters they play on the screen or stage and themselves, but the public doesn’t forget there is a difference. They see how silly it is if you try to be the same person all the time.
I have just as much woman in me as I have man. It’s just a matter of channeling the energy into which way you use it.
If people think I’m angry, I don’t want to burst anybody’s bubble. I like sometimes for people to be afraid of me. But it’s not really anger; it’s discipline.
I always thought that feminine, softer side was just too vulnerable to put out there, because then it’s like you’re opening up a door for everybody to come in, and you don’t know who’s going to come in that door.
I believe in having certain releases, certain outlets. One has to indulge. If you don’t indulge, you don’t live -might as well be dead. I believe in indulging as a user and not as an abuser.
When I was modelling, I spent half my life staring at thousands of perfect reflections. It got to a stage where I was losing all sense of reality – so after I quit modelling, I took all the mirrors out of my house.
Growing up in Jamaica, the Pentecostal church wasn’t that fiery thing you might think. It was very British, very proper. Hymns. No dancing. Very quiet. Very fundamental.
I’ve had more misrepresentations than I can handle, and people have told the wickedest lies about me. A lot of them have taken their frustrations out on me, and I don’t like that because it can wound. Not necessarily me, but those around me. Journalists can be so bad.
To be honest, my life is not really as way-out and myth-loaded as people like to portray it.
Women and men grow up with both sexes. Our mothers and fathers mean a lot to us, so it’s just a question of finding a balance between their influences. I’ve found mine. And it tends to be more on the male side. I mean male side the way we understand it in the West.
It was very painful combing my hair. My grand-uncle was a Pentecostal bishop, and he was very strict: our hair couldn’t be permed or straightened. So I just cut it all off.
I go feminine, I go masculine. I am both, actually. I think the male side is a bit stronger in me, and I have to tone it down sometimes. I’m not like a normal woman, that’s for sure.
I am an actress first, a singer second.
When you become such a strong personality in music, it’s hard for people to accept you as a different character.
I didn’t think I had a voice at all, and I still think of myself as an interpreter of songs more than a singer. I thought it was too deep; people thought I was a man. I had a very strong Jamaican accent, too; the accent really messed me up for auditions.
You can’t expect your children to be perfect.
I was skinny as a rail and had high cheekbones and a very interesting face – or so I was told.
I don’t like people who hide things.