Entertainment Music Kelly Clarkson's Best Quotes on Body Image, Motherhood and Music The singer shuts down haters, promotes body positivity and reminds us what really, really matters in life. Thanks, girl By Alison Schwartz and Lydia Price Published on June 18, 2018 05:00 PM Share Tweet Pin Email Trending Videos 01 of 15 WHEN SHE GAVE THOUGHTFUL PARENTING ADVICE Christopher Polk/Getty "I try not to compliment our boys or our girls so much on aesthetics. If they look handsome or beautiful, obviously we'll say that, but I'm really adamant about everyone around us always saying like, 'God, you're clever. You're smart. You're witty, you're funny …' all the other things that make character." - to PEOPLE 02 of 15 WHEN SHE DIDN'T TAKE CREDIT FOR HER GLAM LOOKS Kevin Winter/Getty "I feel like it's like the mom makeover on the Today show. I walk in and then I walk out and I'm like, 'Damn!' I would love to take any credit for anything that's happening with the glam squad, but my team is insane." - to PEOPLE 03 of 15 WHEN SHE GOT REAL ABOUT HOW REAL CELEBRITIES ARE John Sciulli/Getty "I think that sometimes Hollywood can be very 'Oh, we don't want people to see what we really look like. That'll be the death of you or something.' And it's like, 'Whatever!' Everybody poops. Everybody burps. Everybody's the same." - to PEOPLE 04 of 15 WHEN SHE SAID WHAT EVERY MOM IS THINKING Matt Winkelmeyer/WireImage "[Kids] are challenging. Wine is necessary. They're great though. Out of the mouths of babes. They say stuff where you're like 'Damn.' They call you out. I know it sounds silly but kids teach you to be a better human. They're watching every moment, not only me at home but me sitting here with y'all." "I'm going to teach my kids to do what they love, regardless if they're the most famous person doing it. Love what you do. Love who you work with and don't work with people you don't and don't do things you don't love." - at the NBCUniversal Winter 2018 TCA Press Tour 05 of 15 WHEN SHE DISHED ON BEING WEIGHT SHAMED AT ALL SIZES Andrew Lipovsky/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank/Getty "Even on American Idol I was really thin, but I was bigger than the other girls on the show, so people would say things to me. But luckily I am superconfident, so I've never had a problem with shutting people down and saying, 'Yeah, you know, that's just what I'm rocking. It's fine.' " - to PEOPLE 06 of 15 WHEN SHE SANG HER OWN PRAISES Frazer Harrison/Getty "I think [my performance with Pink the AMAs] was the most powerful moment for me in 2017, other than being a mom. I'm a badass mom. Or least I aim to be." - at the 2017 Billboard Women in Music event 07 of 15 WHEN SHE REMOVED TOXIC PEOPLE FROM HER LIFE Media Punch/INSTARimages.com "There's a song on My December called 'Sober.' There's this line, 'picked the weeds but kept the flowers' and I just live my life by that because you are who you surround yourself with. I was around some really negative people, and I got out of it because I had a lot of great people there, too. It was a case of turning around, facing them and walking toward the light." - to Attitude magazine 08 of 15 WHEN SHE REVEALED SHE STRUGGLED TO FIND HAPPINESS DESPITE LOOKING HEALTHY ON THE OUTSIDE "When I was really skinny, I wanted to kill myself. I was miserable, like inside and out, for four years of my life. But no one cared, because aesthetically you make sense… It was a very dark time for me. I thought the only way out was quitting. I like wrecked my knees and my feet because all I would do is put in headphones and run. I was at the gym all the time." - to Attitude magazine 09 of 15 WHEN SHE GOT REAL ABOUT THE CHALLENGES OF PREGNANCY "Anytime I see someone pregnant, I just pray for them. [Pregnancy] was literally the worst moments of my life. I'm not kidding - I wish I were that girl that [had good memories of pregnancy]. But no. Nope. Don't miss it. It's as if someone was in an accident - they're pregnant, I'm like, 'Oh my God.'" - to PEOPLE 10 of 15 AND THEN WHEN SHE HELPED US LOVE OUR BODIES Kelly C. Tibrina Hobson/Getty "I've just never cared what people think. It's more if I'm happy and I'm confident and feeling good. That's always been my thing. And more so now, since having a family - I don't seek out any other acceptance." - to Heat 11 of 15 WHEN SHE REMINDED US ABOUT THE POWER OF MUSIC Kevin Mazur/Getty "I was very much an outsider as a kid, and music kind of saved me." - to PEOPLE 12 of 15 WHEN SHE INSPIRED US TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE Brian Dunkleman, Kelly Clarkson, Justin Guarini, Nikki McKibbin and Ryan Seacrest. Kevin Winter/Getty "I'm considerably blessed in my life. I came from nothing, and my life took a whirlwind change overnight. My life couldn't be any better. But you just pause and go, 'Why wouldn't you want to give back? Why wouldn't you want to help out when you have so much spotlight to share?' " - to PEOPLE 13 of 15 WHEN SHE REVEALED WHAT'S REALLY IMPORTANT TO HER Anders Overgaard "I love what I do, but I feel like I relied on my career a lot for my self-worth. And now I'm more than that." - to PEOPLE 14 of 15 ON THE BRIGHT SIDE OF LIFE Kelly Clarkson. Weiss Eubanks/NBCUniversal/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty "Shout out 2 every single [Kelly Clarkson Show] guest I've had while taping my show this summer. This year has been challenging, overwhelming & sometimes it feels like hope is lost BUT I have had the honor of meeting some incredible humans doing amazing things & keeping hope alive & I want 2 say THANK U." - on Twitter 15 of 15 ON HAVING AN OUTLET TO POUR HER POST-DIVORCE GRIEF INTO Kelly Clarkson. the Kelly Clarkson show/ youtube "I think that's a blessing in itself. Anytime you go through some life, it's such an awesome thing to have that outlet [of songwriting], regardless of whether people hear it or not." "It is such a gift. I don't know how anybody, I'll just be real with you, goes through grief like divorce, any kind of grief, any kind of loss, without having an outlet like this." - on The Kelly Clarkson Show