When I was young, I wanted to be a movie star. But I realized that you have no control being an actor. So I went to architecture school in NYC, because I was crazy about buildings. Then I began to realize that I got more excited about Vogue coming out each month than I was about my projects.
I really feel like becoming a director came from other women saying, 'Yeah, you can do this.' I wanted to direct 'Six Feet Under,' and no, they didn't let me.
He was at a starting point which makes many a man's career a fine subject for betting, if there were any gentlemen given to that amusement who could appreciate the complicated probabilities of an arduous purpose. . . .
I still consider it a summer job, though. So, I try to maintain that summer job as long as I can. But it's exciting to be able to have the opportunity to do things I always dreamed of as a kid.
That is a huge need for a lot of women, even in 2016. You can have the most ambitious career woman, and at the end of the day, she's like, 'I just want to be a mom.
We want to be big... we want to be a big band, but we don't want to be your best friends.
I got a scholarship to Seattle University and I was writing arrangements for singers and everybody. But the music course was too dry and I really wanted to get away from home.
I was always a keen reader. I jotted down one or two things, but it never occurred to me to think of a job in writing. I thought that writers were like demi-gods. I don't know what I thought.
I remember flying in, driving down 101 in a cab, and passing by all these tech companies like Yahoo! I remember thinking, 'Maybe someday we'll build a company. This probably isn't it, but one day we will.'
I don't want to sacrifice and be a backup to be a Charger. That's not something I want to do or I'm going to do.
I don't look in the mirror and see a president of the United States. I don't have that ambition.
I was very interested in politics in college and was heading to be a lawyer. I have a degree in economics and I was interested in it. I hadn't really gotten super serious about it and I'd done a lot of student politics in high school. I really think it would be interesting and fun and challenging to go into politics.
Don't think about what you want to be, but what you want to do. Keep up some kind of a minimum with other things so that society doesn't stop you from doing anything at all.
I loved stand-up, but I never thought you could do it as a job.
Whenever people say, 'You should be president,' I say, 'I thought you liked me.' Listen, I thought being mayor of Stamford was a wonderful job. Being governor of a state for a period of time is a wonderful job, and I'm not sure I'm at all attracted to Washington.
The first thing I wanted to be growing up was a solicitor, because all the people around me needed solicitors! But I never really followed it up. Then I wanted to be a dessert chef because I liked the presentation.
When I was in 'Billy,' I always knew that I wanted to do something in performing. I always knew that I wanted to have a future in the performing arts. I had no idea that it was going to be acting in movies.
I had the great good fortune of working with Christopher Plummer, Frances Sternhagen, and Arthur Hill early in my career, and it set a standard for the kind of work I want to do.
My father had been in the German Diplomatic Service, and although he had been in the United States since World War II and out of diplomacy, it was something that was very much talked about in the family. So when I went to college, it was always my intention to try to get into the Foreign Service.
I'd love to be in the Hall of Fame one day and win Super Bowl rings, or even one... and stay healthy.
When I was a young girl, I used to dream about what I would be when I grew up. I thought that I wanted to be a nurse, then a teacher, even a pilot at one point.
I hope my career will be long-term. It's not something I'm taking for granted, but we try to plan that way.
I wish I could be a model, and then I could have this fantastic body and parade around and get paid for it.
I don't think I made it clear where I was mentally when I appeared on 'X Factor.' There was so much pressure and a lot of judging. But I wanted to take a chance on the show because I wanted to make something of myself. 'X Factor' seemed like the only way out.
When I plan ahead, I don't just plan what I'm doing tomorrow. I also plan what I'm doing five years from now.
