In my teens, I was never part of the cool crowd.

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.

My mom was really vigorous about making sure that we saw things and that we questioned things. Education was so important to both of my parents.

My world was a community ballet school, a marching band, my two sisters and my girlfriends. I played saxophone in the band and was a bit nerdy.

No matter what, it is very tricky and difficult just to be a good parent at all. I have a lot of help. And for that I'm very grateful.

The outside world can be very tough.

The rule with marriage is the less you talk about it the better, as far as I can tell.

There's an internal battle. I need to work, I need to work, I need to work and I need to be home with my kids and the kids win.

Well, you can't be trying to achieve success of any kind in this business without accepting that there's going to be a flip side to it.

Women should take care of each other, not tear each other down.

You can do a lot with Scotch tape. Almost anything! I love that you can hem a dress, and its an instant remedy in a fashion crises.

You stick to the script, the script is Bible.

You're supposed to look a certain way when you're a celebrity, but I want to take care of my baby, and those two things don't mesh very well.

And now, I still really don't care that much but now I have music playing all the time at home, which is a first for me. Whatever. Everything from Ani DiFranco to Dave Matthews to Jack Johnson and Norah Jones.

Beauty comes from a life well lived. If you've lived well, your smile lines are in the right places, and your frown lines aren't too bad, what more do you need?

I always, always meant to be on stage. I only ended up even auditioning for television and movies because I was understudying a Turgenev play on Broadway and was so broke that, when I got a mini-series, I had to take it and was so ashamed because I was such a snob.

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.

I am the model middle child. I am patient and I like to take care of everyone. Being called nice is a compliment. It's not a boring way to describe me.

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 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.