Nicki Minaj has a lot on her plate: She's recording a new album (and plans to put out at least three more). She's releasing a clothing line for Kmart. She's costarring in her first movie. And, on top of all that, she wants to be a mom.
"You feel the need to pay it forward, which starts with analyzing yourself with a true desire to grow," the Marie Claire cover girl tells the magazine about a recent "epiphany" she had on her success.
The rapper continues, "I was praying every day, 'You know what, Lord? I want to be a mom one day, and I want to start becoming the woman who I want to parent my child.'... I didn't want to become a person who wasn't enjoying the moment."
But, as they say, first comes love. And Nicki's fans are convinced she's currently secretly dating someone famous. Marie Claire asked Twitter fans to submit questions and received quite a few demanding Minaj reveal her "secret boo."
"Dear Barbz," she laughed when the interviewer asked. "I don't have a man. And if he were a secret man, why would I reveal him?"
She does have some advice in the dating department though: "Don't chase any man. Put your school first," she advises. "Men love independent women. You don't have to be a bitch, but there's nothing wrong with it at times. And: Men are kids at heart. They want to be nourished and pet like a dog."
What fans can look forward to though, is Minaj's first turn on the big screen (in person, she voiced a character in last summer's Ice Age: Continental Drift). She'll costar opposite Cameron Diaz and Kate Upton in The Other Woman.
Which isn't a surprise for people who know that Nicki actually went to school to study acting: "By the time I'm 19, I'm going to be Halle Berry status," she recalls thinking during her school days. "I really believed it and when it didn't happen, I started getting more and more crushed."
And she landed this gig because of American Idol. "[Director] Nick Cassavettes" goes, 'I've been watching you on Idol, and you're great.'" she reveals, before continuing, "I would be lying if I said I was not nervous. I can't blow this."