Women don't take care of themselves because they take care of everybody else.

You can't really judge characters, because that's when it gets really hard to play them.

Brains don't really smell, but what's amazing about the brain is that it's almost like scrambled eggs or soft tofu, almost like a gel. The brain controls so much of what we do, but you could put your finger right through it.

I didn't have a boyfriend until I was 16, and he was eight years older. My father was furious about this 24-year-old, and I had to hide the relationship.

I don't find acting to be a particularly noble way to make a living. I'm not saving anybody's life, I'm not a teacher, I'm not working for UNICEF. I don't think I'm some big deal.

I just worry about the girls who look up to me. I don't want them to think I starve myself or don't eat, and that to be like me that's what they have to do.

I think for any actor to say they don't like attention is ridiculous. Of course we love attention. But getting attention is different than pretending the attention means something.

My mother came from an Irish family of 11 kids and, of course, had a sister who was a nun, so I spent time at a convent and with an aunt and uncle who lived in New York and took me to the theater.

The older you get the more realistic it is that you're significant other is your significant other. I mean, you'll always have your girlfriends or your guy friends, but the person you're married to is usually your No. 1.

There's a remarkable amount of sexism on TV. When male characters are flawed, they're interesting, deep and complex. But when female characters are flawed, they're just a mess. It's good to put more flawed but interesting female characters out there because it promotes equality.

You know, Boston people are full of sauce.

Acting can be an amazingly cathartic thing - especially for young girls.

Being a mother is magical.

Being a mother is the most fun job I've ever had.

Cancer is something that touches everyone's lives.

Happiness is not that easy to achieve, but having a handsome husband, a beautiful baby, and a great job helps.

I am who I am, a Southie.

I don't like everybody who I see on TV.

I just don't want to be self-obsessed.

I want to teach my daughter the importance of exercising and eating healthy as she grows up.