My playground was the theatre. I'd sit and watch my mother pretend for a living. As a young girl, that's pretty seductive.

It changed me more than anything else. You don't want to get to that place where you're the adult and you're palpably in the next generation. And, this shoved me into that.

I spend a good portion of my dinner-party conversation defending America because no matter what the political agenda, it's still a fantastic, amazing place.

I'm an artist, and the need to get inside myself and be creative and be other people is a part of who I am. I don't imagine I'll abandon that completely.

I was having such a hard time when I made Sylvia. I gave everything I had for that role. It's one or two or three things I'm most proud of in terms of my work. But it was very dark.

I moved to New York from California when I was 11, so initially I was seen as the California person for a while. I didn't feel like I was popular, but I did feel confident.

I wasn't the high-school play queen or anything. And my parents would let not me act until I graduated from college.

My life comes down to three moments: the death of my father, meeting my husband, and the birth of my daughter. Everything I did previous to that just doesn't seem to add up to very much.

It's a waste of time for people to say things they think other people want to hear, or try and come off in a certain way. I try to be as honest as I can.

Beauty fades! I just turned 29, so I probably don't have that many good years left in me.

I understand that if you set out to be a celebrity, then you asked for it, but all I wanted to be was an actor.

I just had a baby. I'm not going to work unless it's something really special and meaningful, because I can't imagine missing all that time with my daughter.

I don't know who decided that skinny was more appealing than not skinny. It seems arbitrary.

The Jewish part of me is superstitious.

My father, he was like the rock, the guy you went to with every problem.

I have a very highly developed sense of denial.

Sometimes when things you love get really commercial, you end up feeling betrayed by it.

If we were living in ancient Rome or Greece, I would be considered sickly and unattractive. The times dictate that thin is better for some strange reason, which I think is foolish.

In the theater, you go from point A to point Z, building your performance as the evening progresses. You have to relinquish that control on a film.

Women were real box office stars in the '40s, more so than men. People loved to see women's films. I think it was better then, except for the studio system.

I say what I think, and I stand behind what I say.

When you're so out there in the public eye, people are constantly criticizing every aspect about you.

My playground was the theatre. I'd sit and watch my mother pretend for a living. As a young girl, that's pretty seductive.

The adrenaline of a live performance is unlike anything in film or theater. I can see why it's so addictive.

My dad always said he couldn't remember a time when I did not want to act.

Beauty, to me, is about being comfortable in your own skin. That, or a kick-ass red lipstick.

I really like where Tony Robbins says that we're all hypnotized to see beauty this one specific way, and it's true.

Our marriage is between us. If we decide to continue being together or not, it's our business.

As I absorbed life here and understood it better, I just completely fell in love with England.

Because I was newly pregnant, I was sick as a dog, yet I knew all my lines from a year before.

We feel it's unacceptable to be fat, when it has nothing to do with who the person actually is.

I've had a very interesting career. I get to do amazing things and work with amazing people and travel and learn languages - things most people don't get the opportunity to do.

I put on the fat suit and went outside and walked around. I was really nervous about being found out, but nobody would even make eye contact with me. It really upset me.

I understand what it feels like not to like aspects of yourself. There have been times that I have felt really terrible about the way I look. I have the seed of that feeling.

There's something that sort of weirds me out about actors who want to be rock stars, and the other way around too.

I try to remember, as I hear about friends getting engaged, that it's not about the ring. It's a grave thing, getting married.

Beauty, to me is about being comfortable in your own skin.

Creating a meal for my friends and family, sitting together, eating, laughing and talking - that is when I am so happy. Oh my God, if you could see how much food I make - I am the original Jewish mother.

I am who I am. I can't pretend to be somebody who makes $25,000 a year.

I do 45 minutes of cardio five days a week, because I like to eat. I also try for 45 minutes of muscular structure work, which is toning, realigning and lengthening. If I'm prepping for something or I've been eating a lot of pie, I do two hours a day, six days a week for two weeks.

I love being. There's so much wisdom in it. You wake up in the morning and you think, Hey, isn't it great just being?

I love film. After a yummy meal for the whole family and some truly great friends, we often go out to see something beautiful and unique.

I never thought that I'd be considered to have a good body. I was bony up top and kind of dumpy on the bottom.

I sort of look at some peers of mine and I think, 'No, you've got it all wrong!' I just want to tell them all to have babies and be happy and not get sucked into that Hollywood thing.

I try to avoid barbecue potato chips. They're my weakness.

I try to remember, as I hear about friends getting engaged, that it's not about the ring and it's not about the wedding. It's a grave thing, getting married. And it's easy to get swept up in the wrong things.

I wouldn't say I'm a mummy's girl, but I have grown to have a tremendous appreciation of her as a woman. I was very much a daddy's girl.

I wouldn't say I'm a very original thinker, but if I have a good experience with something, I'll want to take it further or adapt it in some way.

I'm not sure how healthy bacon is in general, but I know it's incredibly delicious.