“I could have been a dental hygienist with nothing bad ever appearing in print about me, but that's not how I've chosen to lead my life. I knew that you put yourself under a microscope the more famous you become.”

“I think being famous is more of a hindrance, a constraint, than just letting yourself be free.”

“You know, one of the biggest thrills I have is when famous people recognize me from Taxi.”

“I remember, when I was an up-and-coming comic, how annoyed I would be when the famous guys would show up and just take everyone's spots.”

“I just like the company of beautiful women. I have a weakness in that department. And I suppose because I am fairly well off and a famous musician, I'm up for grabs. And that makes me an eligible bachelor in the press.”

“That the work involved, the willingness to take chances, the commitment, the opportunity to get on stage and make people happy, was more important than becoming famous, or even what I was dancing.”

“I was a shy kid, but somehow I knew I would make it as a performer. I'd always be telling my mum that I was going to be a famous singer. In my school yearbooks I would write, 'Remember me when I'm famous.' I knew I had a gift.”

“Once you start telling people you're famous, they believe you.”

“I didn't want kids to think that to be happy, they had to be famous or rich or live in the big city.”

“When I was younger, I used to say, One day I'll be famous.”

“Quite often I can be in a bookshop, standing beneath a great big picture of myself and paying for a book with a credit card clearly marked John Grisham, yet no one recognises me. I often say I'm a famous author in a country where no one reads.”

“I just think Rosa Parks was overrated. Last time I checked, she got famous for breaking the law.”

“I had a sense of who I was before I got famous.”

“Ever since grammar school, I knew I wanted to be famous - I always wanted to be a singer.”

“I don't see myself as famous at all so I'm continuing my life as normal.”

“Being famous was extremely disappointing for me. When I became famous it was a complete drag and it is still a complete drag.”

“I am beautiful, famous and gorgeous.”

“The thing about being famous is, it's weird. The only people who get how weird it is are other famous people.”

“Some people want fame, popularity and huge sales. I've always hoped to have a really long career. So I've tried to make each of my creative decisions and business decisions to allow for longevity. As a side effect I got really famous and really big. I didn't realize the two could go together.”

“In approaching our subject it will be best, without attempting to shorten the path by referring to famous theories of the drama, to start directly from the facts, and to collect from them gradually an idea of Shakespearean Tragedy.”

“I don't know how to construct a career that'll make me famous. Except maybe get my ears pinned back, get my teeth done, and go to America. But then I'll be competing with billions of actors who haven't got false teeth, and who are 25.”