MIRANDA LAMBERT'S JOURNEY OF GLAMOUR AND GRIT

Miranda Lambert

Miranda Lambert appears on the cover of Marie Claire’s January issue (on newsstands December 16). From raucous Texas bars to regal red carpets, Lambert’s journey has combined glamour and grit. The country music queen, who hits the road this month for her latest album, means what she says, says what she thinks, and won’t apologize for either.

Miranda Lambert Quotes

On writing and singing her own songs: “Early on, an artist told me, ‘Don’t be yourself. Perform and be someone else. And I thought, ‘That seems like exactly the opposite of what I should be doing.’ Then I had people wanting me to adjust my lyrics to be more appealing to the masses or whatever. I said, ‘No, that’s bullshit.’ I’d rather sell four copies of something that’s real than 4 million copies of something that’s fake.”

On marriage: “I’m not sunshine and roses. Blake’s the happiest person on the planet. He pulls me out of my darkness… Literally everything is the best about being married.”

On her 20-pound weight loss: “When you have to walk out there in front of thousands of people, it does feel good to know that your shit’s not jiggling. I’m just like anybody else, insecure and scared of looking bad or being criticized. But everybody’s making this big, giant thing about it. It’s way too much focus on women’s bikini photos, and I hate it. Why do we care? I want women to love themselves whatever they’ve got going on.”