I read while the kids play. I can see them from the kitchen window. And I'm a fast reader.

When a police officer tells you to stay in the car, you stay in the car.

I don't think I realised how stressed I was, being a single parent. It was really, really stressful. It's not easy on anybody.

And I want to say that my grandmother was one of the biggest inspirations in my life. She taught me how to be a real woman, to have strength and self-respect, and to never give those things away.

I have a history, a long history of being stereotyped as a five-foot-two woman, which is very limiting. I've worked so hard to create characters that have dignity. And I think everybody knows that I have a very pro-woman message in my work - and in my life.

Well I always wanted to be Dolly Parton when I was a little girl. I was obsessed with her.

I always let my husband read the script so he knows what's about to happen to his wife. When I played Cheryl Strayed in Wild, I'd get really mad about certain things, I'd say really profound things, and I'd curse out of nowhere. He'd say, "Are you you, or are you Cheryl?"