I'm not a stunning woman.

I want to be defined by my own essence.

The Oscar changed everything. Better salary, working with better people, better projects, more exposure, less privacy.

When I was in New Orleans, I was in a grocery store and a woman came up to me and she said, "Oh, my daughter's such a big fan of the show." And I said, "Can I meet her?" And around the corner came this seven-year-old. I was horrified and I almost said to her, "Lady, what are you doing? [American Horror Story] is not for seven-year-olds, I can tell you."

I can sit here on the couch and hear you say, "You're very feminine and very attractive," but I have always struggled with that.

For a long time I did not want to do television because I did not want to get stuck playing the same person. I wanted the ongoing challenge of a variety of roles.

O.K., we had women's lib in the '60s, the women fought for their roles, they're out there in the work force. Now let's talk about how they're dealing with things as human beings.