Quotes

I'd go to concerts and think, "That's exactly what I want to do.".

[on losing a spot on The All New Mickey Mouse Club (1989) to Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera] I wanted to give up, but my family kept me going.

I want people to fall in love with my voice before my image.

[on how successful her future album may be] I'm right there ready to explode... or I could go pfft. No one could ever hear from me again.

[in CosmoGIRL, February 2001] I have this fear of talking to people. I'm worried they won't like me. I've always had that insecurity. I tried to go up to Céline Dion at the Billboard Awards last year [2000]. She was right there, but I couldn't do it.

After 9-11, I knew that I never ever wanted to be away from Nick [husband Nick Lachey] ever for the rest of my life.

Dumb is just not knowing. Ditzy is having the courage to ask! Ditzy is not editing yourself.

Faith has helped me to be a strong person and stay level-headed. It brings me peace. In this business, you definitely need peace.

I want to be a diva... like people-totally-respect-my-music diva, not diva like carry-my-diet-Coke-around.

Natural beauty is really happiness with who you are. It you like who you are on the inside, that'll come through on the outside.

Everybody from my record label to my father as my manager was like "Don't get married." But when I got married, my career began.

[on Operation Smile] Nick [husband Nick Lachey] and I have gotten a lot of attention for doing a "reality" show on television, but the ability to give a child his or her smile back is the kind of reality that really deserves the attention. We are both so happy to play a small part in the wonderful work Operation Smile does for children.

I think that freshness and that innocence is something that is missing from a lot of female singers. I'm certainly not denying that I'm young, but I'm not fluff.

I'm such a sucker for sappy songs. I'm a big romantic, and I love love. I love singing about it and listening to songs about it

[on her dog Daisy] She goes with me everywhere. It's preparing me to be a mother, I think.

My mom was really worried I'd grow up looking strange, so every night before I went to bed, she'd pull my legs and stretch them so they'd be in proportion with the rest of my body.

I don't really care what I'm famous for. As long as I get to do the movie roles, I want to do and still make records.

I don't want people walking out of a movie thinking I was trying to act or be some movie star. I want them to think, "That might make me like Jessica a little bit more.".

[introducing herself to U.S. Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton in December 2004] You've done a nice job decorating the White House.

Nobody deserves to be treated like a princess 100 percent of the time - not even me!

My first kiss was when I was 14. I could tell it was coming because Jason picked up a handful of mints. We had been going out for over a year, so it was really special.

[on plastic surgery] I'm not against plastic surgery. I do believe that it becomes an addiction to people. But if you're doing it for yourself, then you're doing it for yourself. If you're doing it to make heads turn when you walk down the street and get noticed, then I think that's a bunch of BS.

Why go through your life with regrets? Every decision you make determines who you are. If you make a bad one, you fix it. It makes you stronger.

[on the "perils" of being a curvaceous Christian pop star] I had doors slammed in my face as a 14-year-old because my boobs were too big.

I love to hug - fans, friends and family alike - so it hurts when the security guards tell me I can't do it at record stores during autograph parties... which they often do.

My bra and underwear always have to match. I love that. I've collected a whole lot of sets. When a girl has on color-coordinated underpants, she just feels sexy. And I've been a cheerleader, so I should know!

My #1 beauty tip is as follows: look someone in the eye when greeting them, smile, and follow up with a hug. I got that from my mom... and it's never failed me yet!

When I was born, my dad wanted to christen me "Misty Dawn Simpson". But my mom talked him out of it - "Jessica Ann" was her idea, and it stuck - so you tell ME what it's like having a twin sister with that name.

I will never do nudity. I don't care how dark and intellectual the role could be, you know. I don't care if I frickin' could get an Oscar for it, I'm not going to do it.

[When asked when she feels the most beautiful]: I feel most beautiful when I am in my bathtub, listening to Sade. I also feel beautiful when I laugh and when I'm with my friends and I just have a T-shirt and booty shorts on.

Is that weird, taking my Louis Vuitton bag camping?

I definitely believe that women can change the world!

Always reach for the stars, the moon, the sun - all of it. There's always somewhere more to go.