I always thought I was a little shy, especially compared to my brother and my sister, but I guess I was always the kid doing performances in the front room.

The one thing about being on 'ER' that has changed is that I'm more easily recognizable.

I had a really scary pregnancy and a very difficult delivery. My daughter and I are lucky to be alive.

There are not that many jobs as an actor where you don't get to know what your character will be doing from episode to episode.

I think the hardest thing about the part is the responsibility that you feel playing something that is so real and resonant in our times. There are people coming home right now with those stories, and I'm just an actress pretending to be that person. You hope that you can shed some light on somebody's predicament.

We hurt each other because we care about each other.

I love to work on a set whether it's mostly men or mostly women, but there's something about being in a community of women that changes the energy.