I love Jennifer Hudson! She is so lovely on screen. She is so buoyant and youthful off screen as much as on.

I feel honor-bound to have a private relationship with my children. And that's not a judgment about anybody else and what they choose. And that's the beauty of living in a democracy, right?

Read the editorial page of your local paper. It introduces you to opinion and can be terrifically provocative and perhaps a great motivating force for you to get involved in your community, regardless of your political ideology.

When we were young people, all we ever wanted was to be good working actors. We didn't think of fame or money because, honestly, money was never part of the dream.

I feel funny saying this, I'm not really a shoe shopper. I'm not going to go out and buy hundreds of pairs of shoes. I'm much more thoughtful than [Carrie] is, which is also one of the treats of playing her all these years.

For the last ten years or more, I've really been making shopping decisions based on, "Is that what I want to wear forever?" I tend to not have these quick one - night stands or affairs with fashion, because it never suits me anyway. I tend to shop, specifically with heels or shoes, for things that I think, "Yeah, this is a long - term relationship.".

I still like getting dressed up and having the opportunity to borrow beautiful dresses, but as a mother - and as somebody who's schedule isn't always my own - I don't shop a lot, or think about clothes a lot.