10 Stevie Nicks Quotes That Reflect Her One-of-a-Kind Philosophy on Life, Music and Love

Stevie Nicks, the singular voice behind many Fleetwood Mac hits, has been a musical icon for five decades. The singer-songwriter, known for her unique vocals and bohemian style, continues to resonate with fans and she’s won over multiple generations during her many years in the spotlight.

Part of what makes Stevie Nicks so captivating is her ability to weave mystique into both her music and words. Even when she’s not performing onstage, she has an ethereal aura, and the things she’s said in interviews over the years are very much of a piece with her brilliant musical creations.

We’ve gathered 10 of the best Stevie Nicks quotes on relationships, music, fashion and more. Read on for inspiring words of wisdom sure to help you channel your inner Bella Donna.

1. “We want to have our serious side and all that, but you can’t take yourself too seriously. When you keep music in your life, I think it just changes you and pulls you out of a deep hole. Whenever I’m depressed, I just put music on.”

Unlike many rock stars, Stevie Nicks has always been unpretentious, and the emotional solace she finds in music can apply even to those of us who don’t possess her creative gifts.

2. “I’m an independent woman and am able to take care of myself, and that is not attractive to men.”

You have to love Nicks’ forthright feminism!

3. “We have to float in like goddesses, because that is how we want to be treated. And we will never not be invited to the party, because we are women.”

Even in interviews, Nicks maintains a sense of mysticism, but at the same time, what she’s saying here is totally logical and very much worth following.

4. “Personally, I think that sexy is keeping yourself mysterious. I’m really an old-fashioned girl, and I think I’m totally sexy.”

In our social media saturated world, it can often feel like we’re bombarded by too much information, but Nicks has always embraced mystery—and so should we.

5. “I could never go onstage in street clothes because it’s not who I am. I could never go out there in a pair of jeans and a denim jacket. I mean, I don’t do casual very well. Even my normal life, I’m in cashmere pants and a cashmere sweater and cashmere thoughts.”

The stylish singer has always stayed true to her signature shawls and hippie-chick layers, and we appreciate the authenticity of her fashion sense (and want to try thinking cashmere thoughts ourselves!)

6. “There is no age limit on how good of a writer you can be. I hear all these older songwriters go, like, ‘I can’t write love songs anymore.’ And I’m, like, ‘Well, that’s just stupid.’ Because you have memories for days. Go open your memory library and check in there.”

At 76, Nicks is still keeping busy, and she’s a firm believer that you can be creative at any age.

7. “Christine McVie and I made a pact the day I joined Fleetwood Mac. She and I said, ‘We will never be treated like second-class citizens. We will never be not allowed to hang out in a room full of intelligent, crazy rock and roll stars, because we’re just as crazy and just as intelligent as they are.’ We just made that promise to each other that we would do everything we could do for women, that we would fight for everything that we wanted and get it. That our songs and our music would be equally as good as all the men surrounding us. And it was.”

Fleetwood Mac was one of the few rock bands to feature not one but two women, and Stevie Nicks and the late, great Christine McVie shared an empowering sisterhood that still resonates today.

8. “I tell the truth, always . . . And that, I think, is a really good place to start as a writer, and I think that’s maybe why my songs connect with people—is because I’m telling them their own story. Everything that happens to me, basically happens to everybody else, in just different ways, different forms, but nevertheless, it’s the same premise.”

The musical icon embraces the fact that anyone, no matter who they are, can find something to relate to in her songs—after all, music is a universal language.

9. “I made a choice to not be married and not have children, because I wanted to be a big-time rock ‘n’ roll star. And people can get mad at me for saying this, but I did not feel that I could do both. I would have been, I think, a great mom, and I would not have put my career first once I had a baby . . . Even in my really bad, drugged-out days, I didn’t go away. I still toured, still did interviews. I never gave up the fight. That’s why I’m who I am today, because I didn’t leave. And I think I made the right choice.”

Nicks is refreshingly candid about her decision to embrace being single and child-free. Given the fact that women are still often judged for these choices, her honesty is appreciated.

10. “I try to be as elegant as I can. But . . . on the other side of that, that rock singer comes through and that masculine side comes through also. You know, you don’t want to be so masculine that you leave feminine and elegant behind. So you try to find a nice way to blend them all.”

Stevie Nicks has always blended bohemian softness with a rocker edge, and that contrast is a big part of the reason why her style has endured.