I have to say, post-fame was difficult because it wasn't just fame: it was super-fame of a kind that few have. It was attached to a generation's dreams, and my own personal dreams were mixed up in it, too.
I think most women have to fight very hard for the opportunities they want, which isn't to say that most artists don't have to do that, male or female, but I'm definitely aware of just how difficult it is to find stories that interest me, particularly.
I wanted to be seen as a good person, and never wanted to let people down, but I found it hard to handle the fame or adulation. I didn't feel worthy of it. I was ashamed by who I thought I was because I felt partly responsible [for the abuse] and I was never able to enjoy the stuff I should have been able to enjoy. My first thought when I won the Tour was: 'My God, I'm going to be famous', and then I thought, 'He's going to call'. I was always waiting for that phone call. I lived in fear that anyone would ever find out.
I was particularly proud of my performance as the Joker. I considered it a piece of pop art.
In the case of a Black woman like myself, the most classic trope of all is that we are angry or we are aggressive. It's very difficult to navigate that because in order to be a leader, and particularly a senior leader, you need to be able to speak with conviction to direct people.
Software is different than other products um, partly because it's, it's not physical and, and partly because of its complexity. You can express in software millions of different cases and making sure that you handle all of them correctly is extremely difficult.
I want that Sinatra type of fame. It's not the 'Whoever's the hot pop star at the moment' fame. It's the 'Walk into a room and everybody just kind of politely nods their heads' fame. Sinatra fame.
The great thing is these days I no longer have to work for a living and that all of the things that I'm able to do where money is paid as compensation for whatever it be, I'm able to donate all of that to charity. That's a wonderful position to find yourself in at the latest stages of your life and I'm proud to have walked the path that I have and I'm proud to be able to continue working and to be able to give away what I earn to some very good causes here in the Southwest.
Women have entered the work force . . . partly to express their feelings of self-worth . . . partly because today many families would not survive without two incomes, partly because they are not at all sure their marriages will last. The day of the husband as permanent meal-ticket is over, a fact most women recognize, however they feel about "women's liberation.
If I were black, I could say I'm proud. If I were Asian, I could say I'm proud. If I were any other ethnicity, I could say I'm proud, because that's how our culture is, but if I'm white and I say I'm proud, the media will go nuts.
I think partly the problem with Yes - and I've had this discussion with people from the Hall of Fame in the past - is that it's going to be difficult to decide how many of the members of Yes you're gonna put in it and how many you're not because of the extensive membership of the band through the years.
I always find it particularly difficult to work in New York because there are so many things to do.
The most difficult thing about shooting guns instantly on film is to not pull a silly face while the gun is going off, because it's always a bit of a shock. So you find yourself sticking your tongue out or blinking or whatever. So the hardest thing is to keep a straight face while you're shooting a gun.
I struggle quite a lot in rehearsals, partly because I'm shy, partly because I still don't really understand the work that actors and directors do. I love the magic at the end, but the getting there - the wrong turns that are necessary to make something work - I find slightly beguiling and worrying.
I think women are particularly open-minded, partly because we're cultivated to be and also because we're collaborative.
I find that I put my body in my work when I am at a particularly difficult or joyous point because I want to feel that moment.