I never felt safe. In high school, acting is what I did to stay sane. It wasn't about showing off; it was about revealing parts of myself that I couldn't reveal anyplace else.

And I realized that sometimes the greatest triumphs in your life come in on little cat feet and sit on silent haunches and it's up to you to see it before it moves on.

Never, ever, have I felt really accepted in Hollywood.

But there isn't any second half of myself waiting to plug in and make me whole. It's there. I'm already whole.

I have never been beautiful in cliche terms.

Many people must have looked at my life and thought I was quite fortunate. But I felt lousy about myself - and as you now know, I didn't come from a place where I had a lot of self-confidence.

I so believe that older women have tremendous value to their families, their community, their country, the world.