Edie Falco

As a single mom, I'm juggling a lot and working long hours. Yes, it costs them a little, but what my children get in return is a mother who is energized and content.

There's a little good and bad in everyone. Everybody I've ever loved is very complicated.

I've watched those shows my whole life - being on one is like a dream. It's hard to balance that dream with the fact that this is the Edie I've known my whole life.

One of the ways I think I gain fodder for characters is by watching people.

Coming home to my family afterward makes the work richer easier and more fun.

I don't have examples in my life of people who are all good or bad; I have deeply loved many people who are both, and I relate to those kinds of people on a far greater level.

I've also learned to no longer feel guilty if I'm invited out and don't want to go. If I start to say to myself, 'What's wrong with you that you're staying in five nights in a row to watch 'Forensic Files' instead of going out with your friends' I remind myself that it's what I need to do for myself at that point.

The second you are handed a newborn it is yours. It doesn't matter what body it came out of. I've never felt more strongly about anything in my life.

I'm a very ritualistic, routine-oriented person, and I discovered over the years that I love working Monday through Friday.

I wanted to act; that was my one goal. I wanted to devote all my time to acting and not waitressing or anything else.

I grew up kind of a tomboy and I used to fight with all the neighborhood boys.

The world gets very small after a while, if you stick around long enough.

It's hard to notice things without people noticing me and that takes some getting used to.

It's a very complicated issue, this fame thing - I was not really cut out for it. There are some really fantastic things about it, but it's difficult for a private person like myself.

When a show has gotten as much attention as this one, everyone wants to join in with something to say.

My kids have never seen me scream at anybody. They've never seen an argument. There's never been even a cold silence. And those are things that I grew up with because my parents did end up divorcing.

In my household there is an insane amount of laughter and celebration.

My actual personality probably lies someplace between the two.

I'm an old-school, embarrassing Joni Mitchell fan. Her music made a hook in my soul and hasn't let go for all these years. I even sing her songs as lullabies to my kids.

The high-grossing films are not all that interesting to me, I have to say. It's not stuff I would want to be in. Yes, you would want the big paycheck, but that's never really been my concern.

I love being able to take a nap in the afternoon.

My friends started having children after college, while I was pursuing this crazy acting career and living hand to mouth. Plus, all my boyfriends were artists struggling to make a living. Having kids didn't make any sense - why would I take on more of a financial burden when I couldn't even afford a dog?

Coming home to my family afterward makes the work richer, easier and more fun.

I actually washed my window once, and it fell through - it was being held together by the dirt.

We're living in a time when parenting is not at all mirroring the way I was parented. For me, I just followed my parents around on their errands; when they were busy on the phone, I was quiet. It's a different kettle of fish these days: They run the house, and you listen to their music, and you go to their appointments.

I'm not sad about any of my life. It's so unconventional. It doesn't look anything like I thought it would.

There were a lot of times I wondered if I was deluding myself. I had nothing else to fall back on, but I never enjoyed anything else.

Is it harder having kids and working? It definitely is, but the payoff is you get to go home to your kids, and it all balances out. And I know I'm a better mother when I'm engaged in something outside of the house.

I love to hand sew. I sometimes make clothing for my children, which of course they grow out of in a matter of minutes. I thoroughly love it.

I really am profoundly grateful just in general in my life. I've had an embarrassing amount of good fortune.

I was a young kid from Long Island who wanted to do something large with her life, so I can relate to that.

I think there was a time when I considered myself a work addict, but that's no longer accurate. My life has changed so dramatically over the last number of years, especially having a family now. My priorities have shifted.

And hey-the psychiatrist in the show is Italian also. So people are going to focus on what they want to focus on. There's not much you can do about that.

Being a single mother was the right thing for me. But I have a tremendous amount of help from my friends. They're in love with my kids, and my kids are in love with them.

I was able to support myself by acting alone about six years ago. Until then, I was just scraping by.

Well, yeah, but I probably wasn't as open about my desperation.