Claude Rains was what we call an actor's actor. He was very involved with himself and his performance.

A woman's heart is a deep ocean of secrets.

I do not need a man. I am devoted to masturbation. I think it's probably one of the most pleasurable experiences in life.

The great actresses and actors receive awards for great roles in great films.

When I was little I thought, isn't it nice that everybody celebrates on my birthday? Because it's July 4th.

I'm amazed. When I was 40, I thought I'd never make 50. And at 50 I thought the frosting on the cake would be 60. At 60, I was still going strong and enjoying everything.

I have enjoyed acting very much, because I know it's not for real!

When I graduated from Santa Monica High in 1927, I was voted the girl most likely to succeed. I didn't realize it would take so long.

When I went back to New York with somewhat of a name, they didn't want movie actresses.

It was a struggle treating Claude Rains as my lover, but we were friendly. It was no great love affair.

I wanted to be on the stage, doing very important emotional roles.

If you took the most ardent revolutionary, vested him in absolute power, within a year he would be worse than the Tsar himself.

Directing is physically exciting because there's a ticking clock, you're working with people, it's very social, it's very enjoyable.

It is all very well for so-called sensible people to recommend flat heels and short skirts, but most of us prefer not to be sensible.

I have no natural charisma or personality, really.

I knew I wanted to have a doll of myself on the cover. I thought, I wanna see myself as a Ken doll.

It's not easy to strap yourself down to a desk and bash on a keyboard when you know you can direct lots of films, because directing films is fun and interactive and gregarious. Writing isn't.

In a meadow full of flowers you cannot walk through and breathe those smells and see all those colors and remain angry. We have to support the beauty, the poetry of life.

I prefer big Oprah. I know Oprah wants to be skinny Oprah, but her head is too gigantic to fit on a skinny body. She has to accept that, like Kirstie Alley, she was meant to be... ahm... voluptuous!

We always say about Hollywood that it's a company town and it's sort of is. It's like in Washington, they say, you know, the company is the government.

Growing up in Cleveland, I learned about singing from my mother, who had once sung professionally and who admired Mahalia Jackson and Aretha Franklin.