As my mother said, I never sprang out of bed with a glad shout! My voice needed oiling and then it took off.

I am an optimistic lady.

Sometimes I`m so sweet even I can`t stand it.

[on Max von Sydow] He was the unqualified front runner -- the most generous man I`ve ever met. And he had such a lovely light sense of humor. I consider it a privilege to have worked with him.

Broadway is a tough, tough arena for singing.

I found it hard to get close to my stepfather at first. He began giving me singing lessons when I was about 7 or 8 in an effort to create a bond between us.

I`ve learned things about myself through singing. I used to have a certain dislike of the audience, not as individual people, but as a giant body who was judging me. Of course, it wasn`t really them judging me. It was me judging me. Once I got past that fear, it freed me up, not just when I was performing but in other parts of my life.

[upon receiving the BAFTA award on October 7, 1989] I am first and always English, and I carry my country in my heart wherever I go. I`ve tried to honour her, and I have the funny feeling that perhaps tonight, in some way, I`ve managed to do just that.

[on being a gay icon] I don`t know. I`m sort of aware that I am. But I`m that odd mixture of, on the one hand, being a gay icon and, on the other hand, having grandmas and parents being grateful I`m around to be a babysitter for their kids. And I`ve never been able to figure out what makes a gay icon, because there are many different kinds. I don`t think I have the image that, say, Judy Garland has, or Bette Davis.

I am a liberated woman. And I do believe if a woman does equal work she should be paid equal money. But personally I am feminine and I do like male authority to lean on.

I`ve got a good right hook.

[upon answering whether Mary Poppins and Bert ever got it together]: I hope so. She wouldn`t admit it, but I do hope so.

[1982] Does Mary Poppins have an orgasm? Does she go to the bathroom? I assure you, she does.

Some people regard discipline as a chore. For me, it is a kind of order that sets me free to fly.

If the director says you can do better, particularly in a love scene, then it is rather embarrassing.

Bette Davis was always marvelous.

I am very proud to be British. I`m very conscious of carrying my country with me wherever I go. I feel I need to represent it well.

I love singing, and I came to absolutely adore it in the later part of my career.

Sometimes oppurtunities float right past your nose. Work hard, apply yourself, and be ready. When an opportunity comes you can grab it.

I don`t want to be thought of as wholesome.

I have been called a nun with a switchblade where my privacy is concerned. I think there`s a point where one says, that`s for family, that`s for me.

All love shifts and changes. I don`t know if you can be wholeheartedly in love all the time.

Richard Burton rang me up once and said, Do you know you`re my only leading lady I`ve never slept with? I said, Well, please don`t tell everybody, it`s the worst image.

A lot of my life happened in great, wonderful bursts of good fortune, and then I would race to be worthy of it.

Sometimes I`m so sweet even I can`t stand it.

Singing has never been particularly easy for me.

I thought it was all a flash in the pan. It wasn`t until Broadway came along that I felt I had really made it.

I don`t think today`s younger audience... would even know what 1920s musicals were like.

I hate the word wholesome.

I would be a fool to deny my own abilities.

I had a teacher who stressed for me the importance of diction in terms of - I want to be very careful about how I say this - in terms of supporting one`s voice when one is singing. In other words, if you hold on to your words, your voice will pull through for you when you`re singing. So be true to your vowels. Supposing you have to sing [from "The Messiah"] "Behold thy king cometh unto thee". If you do a strong "thee", it will help you with the "-hold", which is a much higher note. And it`s the note before the note that matters, then you unpeel a song backwards.

I was lucky enough to be the lady that was asked to be Maria in the Sound Of Music, and that film was fortunate enough to be huge hit. The same with Mary Poppins. I got terribly lucky in that respect.

The thrill of being in front of a camera remains exactly the same.

As soon as you have one, all those dormant maternal instincts start popping out all over you, like German measles.

All love shifts and changes. I don`t know if you can be wholeheartedly in love all the time.

All kinds of things have been printed, including much gossip and rumour and finally I feel ready to have my say. I want to be as honest as I can.

I adored my birth father and constantly worried that I was being disloyal to him and his schoolteacher roots if I spent too much time performing and enjoying it.

Films are much more my level. On stage I never feel quite enough.

[asked where she kept her Oscar] He stayed in the attic a long time. I just didn`t feel worthy . . . When I got to know more about film, I felt safe trotting him out.

On the whole, I think women wear too much and are to fussy. You can`t see the person for all the clutter.

Garry Marshall is a joy. I feel so utterly safe in his hands.

I have always wished I could learn to be a potter. I love collecting ceramics; it would be so fulfilling to create something lovely.

As soon as you have one, all those dormant maternal instincts start popping out all over you, like German measles.

Blake [husband Blake Edwards] and I have this wonderful arrangement that while one is working hard, the other tries to be at home as much as possible and vice versa.

Perseverance is failing 19 times and succeeding the 20th.