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.
Going after 'the bad guy' has not been a real issue for me.
I never had a problem resisting somebody that I knew was going to break my heart.
The last thing I want to do is complain; I love what I do, and I know every job comes with a downside. But boy, this one's a doozy...You pull out of your driveway, and the paparazzi literally chase you, running red lights - I'm a really careful driver, especially with my kids in the car, but I worry they're going to cause an accident.
I'm still really close with everyone at home and their parents - and their brothers and sisters. I was so, so, so lucky to grow up as part of a community and I don't take that for granted. I try very hard to stay part of it.
I'm privileged, because I have a lot of freedom. I want to use it to make as warm and normal a life as I can for our daughters.
But I'll never be one of those women who feel that they always have to wear earrings and aren't properly dressed without them.
You stick to the script, the script is Bible.
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.
I do think about aging. I have those moments of panic and vanity, but life keeps getting better, so you can't worry about it too much.
It's about getting the kids up and fed, getting one to school, getting the other down for a nap, going to the grocery store, picking one up from school, getting the other one down for another nap, cooking dinner... I live my life at these two extremes. I'm either a full-time stay-at-home mom or a full-time actress.
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.
The wholesome is definitely intentional and drilled into me. I mean, we weren't allowed to pierce our ears growing up. We didn't wear makeup. We couldn't have layers in our hair, perms, or color, or manicures. My dad didn't think it was ladylike. My dad just felt like his daughters should be wholesome.
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.
I'm still conflict-averse. I don't like to argue.
When Jen Aniston and Brad Pitt broke up, I was dying to see something that said they were getting back together.
I think that baseball games are like soap operas. If you watch five in a row, you know enough to get hooked.
I'm so thrilled to get to raise my kids in the environment that they are in. I think it's easy just to imagine that all these kids are spoiled and entitled. Part of what makes me be strong with my kids is the fact that I'm surrounded by other really firm strong moms.
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.
We do a lot of crafting at our house. I don't even know how it got started because if you ask me, 'Are you crafty?' I would say, 'No...' but it's something that we just do.
I certainly never expected to be in front of a camera one day of my life.
The outside world can be very tough.
I wash my face at night for sure. If I've had makeup, on I wash it twice. And now that I'm old, I use the Rapid Repair moisturizer, which has all the stuff in it - retinol, alpha, whatever, all of it. And I do use a Neutrogena eye cream, which I didn't used to.
I never use powder unless I'm about to be in front of a camera. I don't need that matte, crunchy feeling.
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.
Growing up where I did, the thought of working on a television show or in a movie... that existed on a parallel plane, you know?
I danced six hours a day. My cross to bear is that my children have no interest in ballet. I think they could smell how much I wanted to put their hair in a bun.
I am not pregnant, but I've had three kids, and there is a 'bump.' From now on, ladies, I will have a 'bump,' and it will be my 'baby bump,' and let's just all settle in and get used to it; it's not going anywhere.
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 hoped, hoped, that maybe I'd be lucky enough to do something on Broadway, in the chorus.
I will tell you what I can't abide - and I think the Internet has really created a space for it - women criticizing other women and mothers criticizing other mothers.
I would roll up pennies to take the subway to work in Times Square. I was broke, but I was happy.
There's just nothing like sharing the spotlight or anything else with your sisters and your mom. It's always fun for me to get my sisters dolled up and my mom.
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.
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.
Why does everyone think they need to be a star? It's ridiculous. The celebrity culture is so silly, and the fact that people grow up thinking that it's something to aspire to just seems wrong. I don't mean to bash my life. I love my life; I just think it's not the only way to go.
I just try work out at least twice a week if I can.
People have pain - they do regrettable things, they feel shame, and shame equals pain.
The rule with marriage is the less you talk about it the better, as far as I can tell.
My parents started with very little and were the only ones in their families to graduate from college. As parents, they focused on education, but did not stop at academics - they made sure that we knew music, saw art and theatre and traveled - even though it meant budgeting like crazy.
I love the feeling of being on a team, rehearsing together, sharing a dressing room - I love that so much.
I can definitely benefit from a self-tan, although I cannot say that I am the best at applying it. I'm just not gifted at those kinds of things! But bronzer for sure. Also, just using blush that has that kind of a sun-kissed color as opposed to a bright pink. I would rather have it be really sheer and just right where the sun would hit you.
We can be so hard on ourselves. And other people can, too - there's so much criticism out there!
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 thought the divorce statistics would never apply to me. I was beyond heartbroken when they did. But I got up and got on with it. I also kept my belief in marriage.
I've had more acne as an adult than I had as a teenager. After weaning babies, my skin's gone totally bonkers. I didn't even know about dermatologists until I had weaned my first baby, and my skin was so damaged. It was just beyond. And then, I realized, there's a whole doctor who can help you with this.
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 have always been drawn to child-related causes. I find that people listen to me more when I advocate for children now that I have my own.
