I was raised on the streets, in hot, steamy Brooklyn, with stifled air.

I arrived in Hollywood without having my nose fixed, my teeth capped, or my name changed. That is very gratifying to me.

The result [Republicans winning the Senate] would be devastating for reproductive choice, the environment, civil liberties, Social Security and health care, as well as corporate accountability.

I worked in a Chinese restaurant.

He (son Jason) doesn't see me as a (gay) icon, he sees me as his mother who touches his hair too much. No, I love being an icon to anybody. Equal rights, you know?

I don't know why it is that we need to denigrate, to knock down. It's so sick.

I think of myself as a girl from Brooklyn.