I do like to have fun. I don't need alcohol to have fun.

I went out with some old friends and we were having fun. A couple of them were very intoxicated. When I went to leave, I refused to let them drive. So when I got pulled over, I was the driver.

I believe that birth control is just like every other medication even though it's a controlled substance.

I understand there are a lot of people looking up to me.

I'm Miss USA, not Miss Religion USA.

My family is just an amazing melting pot of wonderful religions and faiths.

My mom was diagnosed with breast cancer when I was 13 and it was something we weren't really aware of as a family.

They say 'expect the worst.' I say 'Expect the best and even better will happen.'

Everyone should be proud of who they are and where they come from because America is a big melting pot of diverse ethnicities. It's great to be part of this wonderful country.

I'm not a party animal; I took my job as Miss USA very seriously... Sometimes, of course, I want to let it all go. Even though I'm a beauty queen, you're also an unofficial ambassador, and there's a lot of pressure.

We're a Muslim family, but we're also very cultured and we have a mixture of different religions. For example, my brother-in-law is Catholic, and my sister converted and my nephews are baptized. I have an uncle who just graduated and currently he's a priest.

Any great character is the combination of a brilliant actor and the right writing.

Every teenager feels a wanting, a desire for something more, to be heard, to be seen.

One of the main pitfalls of any theoretically 'niche' show is that you spend too much time on the 'niche' and not enough time on the 'show.'

I love it when characters surprise you, just like real people. When I write a scene I just try to make the characters behave in a way that feels natural to them. Sometimes that means they make a left turn and do something unexpected. Those are always the best scenes in my opinion.

The East Coast, and certainly Boston, has a provincial quality to it that makes it harder to bust out and move up. Try to be too different and they'll pull you down.