I feel lucky, though, because even when ‘Alias’ was popular, I was still sent scripts against type. I’ve never felt like the world only sees me one way. But yes, it’s been really fun to be bad.
My mother is a big believer in being responsible for your own happiness. She always talked about finding joy in small moments and insisted that we stop and take in the beauty of an ordinary day. When I stop the car to make my kids really see a sunset, I hear my mother’s voice and smile.
I know I live a charmed, beautiful life and nobody wants to hear a celebrity whine. The last thing I want to do is complain; I love what I do and I know every job comes with a downside.
My mom gave me a good piece of advice. She said never marry a man thinking you can change him, and I think that starts from your first date when you’re in the seventh grade onwards. Women are fixers so we have to just not fix. Don’t fix.
I don’t have this fantasy about marriage anymore. Everyone says it takes hard work. Well, it kind of does – and I’m much more pragmatic about romance than I used to be.
My big sister Melissa, is such a stud and my little sister Suzanna, has always had a perfect body and big blue eyes. We were a force.
I don’t understand how women can manage to get back in shape with a new baby and a job.
To become a classical ballerina, you have to move to New York when you’re 12 or 11 and that becomes your life. I just wanted to be good in my company in Charleston and I wanted it to always be part of my life.
Happiness is your own responsibility.
I’ve found out that I cannot pass up pizza without having some. I just can’t! my kids have a lot of pizza. I can’t go to a kid’s birthday party without having a slice.
You can choose to be civil or not be civil. What is the point of going through the day and think it’s cool to wear your honesty on your sleeve at the expense of everyone around you?
My parents came from a poor background and worked their way up because of education. They saw it as a way to succeed. So they cared about me getting straight A grades when I was growing up.
My mother and father always supported my passion for acting. I think they just kind of expected me to move to New York and become an actress and have all these adventures.
My mom has always said that the one thing she wishes she had done differently is have a job. She felt like the single-mindedness made her a little nuts sometimes, and she could have used an outlet for herself when we were little.
My mom grew up in poverty in Oklahoma – like Dust Bowl, nine people in one room kind of place – and the way she got out of poverty was through education. My dad grew up without a dad, with very little and he also made his way out through education.
I mean, I didn’t ever watch ‘Gilligan’s Island’ and think, ‘Those people are actors.’ I lived in West Virginia. Hollywood just felt like this total other universe.
I mean, any time an actress gets to work with another actress, it’s like, ‘Oh, there are two of us in a movie! How are you? Let’s sit in the hair chair together!’ We’re lonely women.
I don’t know anyone who was never a geek, really, when they look at their own lives. I think that from the outside looking in, you think that you weren’t necessarily a tragic geek, but yes, you did lean in that direction.
I do like having my ears pierced, because there’s a lot more choice in pierced earrings than there is with clip-ons, and they’re a lot more comfortable to wear – Sometimes I completely forget I’ve got them in and end up going to sleep wearing them.
I am lucky to have had an attentive, curious and loving dad and heart-smart, down-to-earth, gifted mother. They changed the outlooks of their own lives and have never forgotten the people and organizations that helped them dream bigger than their circumstances should have allowed.