Mara Venier

"Don't trust people in show business, they're not very sincere. When you're at the top, they're all your friends, but as soon as you have a problem, they turn their backs on you."

"Interviewer: What is your relationship with faith? Venier: Strong and unpredictable. I often feel the need to go to church and pray. In Rome, I go to Santo Spirito in Sassia, near St Peter's. I need to talk to God, discuss things, sometimes let off steam. It's a personal, very intimate relationship."

"It's very true, I wanted to be a nun. When I was little, I went to the Canossian Sisters, and there was a mother superior who was my role model, and I wanted to be like her. Then, as I grew up, I changed my mind."

"I hope to live in a country where no one has to declare anything anymore. Love exists, period. I would like to get to that point, where no one has to say what their sexual orientation is anymore. We all love, that's it."

"There are many [gay] young people who write to me, who have great difficulties because sometimes their parents do not accept this. I think this can help some parents understand that a child should always be loved and respected."

"My breasts? You're exaggerating, they've always been large. Then, when I became a mother early on, they exploded."

"(About the reason why the homosexual audience likes her) Because, deep down, I am also very gay. Not sexually speaking, of course, but in an introspective way, there is a humanity that truly unites us. It sounds cliché, I know, but all my closest friends, since before anyone suspected anything, are gay."

"I have always hated labels and have never made distinctions between straight and gay people. For me, there is only the person, and I think that every individual should have the same rights."

"Interviewer: Are you in favour of adoption for same-sex couples? Venier: Of course! I really can't understand why there are so many preconceptions. There's a lot of talk about it, but no one understands that behind this issue there is only one word: love, and it's all simpler than it seems. When I talk to friends and colleagues, I always ask, 'Do you really think a child is better off in an orphanage than with two people ready to give them lots of love?"

"Gay Pride has a political agenda, but it's still a party. A big party. ... As a party animal like me, how could I not like an event like that? I have a blast. I saw my first one many years ago in New York, in 1985 if I'm not mistaken. I was with Jerry Calà. As soon as I saw it, I was immediately fascinated by all the colour."

"Interviewer: If your son had ever said to you, “Mum, I'm gay”, how would you have reacted? Venier: The truth? I would have loved it. I have size 41 feet and instead of giving my shoes to my trans friends, I would have lent them to him, just for fun."