Growing up, there was a lot of pressure for women to be good-looking, but my mum was very strict, and she didn't allow me to wear make-up. Looking back, it was good for me. It slowed me down from becoming an adult too quickly.

I didn't really know many girls, growing up, because there weren't many other people living around where I lived.

Not everybody wanted a female to be the front face of a big band, you know... You had to be three times better than a man had to be.

I lived in buses. I didn't really have anything else. I didn't feel like a female, and I ended up really kind of isolated. Everybody thinks you're so happy and so wealthy and such a big star, but you're really kind of lonely and don't know how to stop it.

I have frequently gained my first real insight into the character of parents by studying their children.

Being a chef isn't the ideal career to intersect with parenting, but I try to be in my kids' lives as much as possible.

Getting a laugh was what I'd been doing with my family and at school since the age of three.

The Voice Kids' was a tremendous success in Holland. There was a big emotional reaction from the parents of the children taking part.