If I were offered a cochlear implant today, I would prefer not to have one. But that's not a statement about hearing aids or cochlear implants. It's about who you are.

I've been around since I was 19, I won the Oscar when I was 21, I've had a couple of TV series. I've continued to work despite the predictions of some naysayers.

Deaf people can do anything, except hear.

When I was 13, I told Henry Winkler I wanted to act. He said, Do it and don't let anyone stand in your way. His validation just made it all the more true. I haven't stopped thanking him since.

I have a great husband, great parents and in-laws, and I have help with a nanny. It's not easy, but there are others who do it every day and don't have a high-profile job as I do.

It was ability that mattered, not disability, which is a word I'm not crazy about using.

I got a good handshake. A lot of executives tell me I have the best handshake in Hollywood.

I have made the choices that work best for me. I know I cannot please everyone, and that's fine.

I live my life like everyone else; everyone has their own obstacles. Mine is deafness.

Silence is the last thing the world will ever hear from me.

When I learned to sign and speak at the same time, the whole world opened up to me. That's the beauty of encouraging kids who are deaf to use whatever it takes to communicate.

I feel like every project I work on is a dream project, so long as I am learning.

War is to man what maternity is to a woman. From a philosophical and doctrinal viewpoint, I do not believe in perpetual peace.

I read somewhere that abs are made in the kitchen, and I'd like to agree. I like to think that I try to eat pretty clean, pretty good food.

I am a firm believer in the people. If given the truth, they can be depended upon to meet any national crisis. The great point is to bring them the real facts.

I have often said China is not lacking in material resources. The question is whether we can make full and good use of them.

The trouble with government as it is, is that it doesn't represent the people. It controls them.

Sometimes I wish I was a woman, just so I could have an abortion.

Become detached from your ego, become detached from your possessions. Become simply detached from every possible source of attachment.

Nobody is qualified to become a statesman who is entirely ignorant of the problem of wheat.

I really do believe that my style is informed by the fact that I had such issues with my appearance at various times of my life.