I can do basics, but I'm not a proper cook. I can do a roast. I can stick a chicken in the oven with vegetables.

People have preconceptions about women of a certain age.

Coming eyeball to eyeball with a hummingbird on my terrace is as exciting to me as any celebrity Ive met as a result of Downton Abbey.

The first meal my husband ever made me was a chicken curry. I have never tasted anything so delicious in my life.

I get invited to a lot more glamorous parties since Ive been in Downton Abbey, which has made me much more fashion conscious.

I did an O-level in domestic science when I was at school, but on the day of the practical exam, it was a cookery nightmare.

Ive been to the White House and had Hilary Clinton push through the crowd to come and meet me. Chelsea Clinton, too.

I believe anything can happen.

I always admire people who have passion.

As an actor, you never know where the works going to come, so you have to be flexible about it.

Ive not cooked Christmas dinner since 1982.

In Greece wise men speak and fools decide.

FROG, n. A reptile with edible legs

The world is awakening to a powerful truth: Women and girls aren’t the problem; they’re the solution.

There are estimates that 2 to 3 percent of cancers in the U.S. each year are engendered by exposure to repetitive imaging.

I was approached by friends who encouraged me to run for an open seat - attorney general of Michigan. It was a big risk.

Generosity could be as contagious as the zombie plague as long as enough people were willing to be carriers.

Looking back, I wince at the careless way I tossed out my opinions.

Diamonds are a girls bestfriend

The logic was, there weren't too many female comedians, so I thought I might as well try a field that had fewer competitors than the field I was in, which was acting, singing and dancing.

Mouse was the truest friend I ever had. And if there is such a thing as true evil, he was that too.