Beyoncé's like, 'Okay. The singing is great. But you're not having any fun.' She's like, 'Remember when we were at Jay's concert and Panjabi MC comes on and you do your crazy Indian dance? Do that. Be you!'

We feel it's unacceptable to be fat, when it has nothing to do with who the person actually is.

I have a very highly developed sense of denial.

If you read something bad about yourself and it stings you, I've learned that somewhere that's a judgment I'm holding about myself, so I'll try to work through that.

When I was starting out, I would get printouts of what was being written about me that week. At first it was all good things, and then it started to turn. I very quickly learned, "This isn't good, this isn't helping me." But it was a very important exercise for me in terms of really understanding that one's sense of self is internal. I have had an extreme opportunity to learn that lesson, and I think it's been such a blessed fortune.

As you get older, you choose friends based on not only what feels resonant and warm but if they're bringing something to your life. My women friends are incredibly intelligent. There's no posturing, no competition. Especially in Los Angeles, I see pockets of friends who are very competitive, and I think, What is the point? I would rather be alone in bed with a book than have a girlfriend who is like that.

Women were real box office stars in the '40s, more so than men. People loved to see women's films. I think it was better then, except for the studio system.