When I was 18 I went to college for two years and didn't work for a year which was essential for me, because my identity had been so influenced by my being an actor and I think I just needed to discover what it was to be myself, divorced from all that responsibility.
Well, I needed the work - that's the honest answer. I haven't worked for a while, a couple of years. So I thought it would be nice to get back to work and earn some money.
Right after graduation, I married Samuel Fisher Babbitt, an academic administrator. I spent the next ten years in Connecticut, Tennessee, and Washington, D.C., raising our children, Christopher, Tom, and Lucy.
I definitely enjoyed it and I am glad I did university - four years of not being in the public eye - and I met all my best friends doing it, so I am definitely glad it happened.
After my debut in 2005, I had done almost 15 films till 2008, with 'Saas Bahu and Sensex' being the last. Hence, I thought it was time to slow down.
After 'The White Shadow' was over, I did some more work, but then I wound up taking a year off to teach at Harvard. It afforded me the chance to have a variegated career - a very interesting one.
A lot of professions happen to be male-dominated because women drop out at a certain point. It's unfortunate.
People talk about retiring. I never said that r-word. People though I went away after the Olympic Games. I took time off to do something I've always wanted to be - a mother.
When I was 23, I went backpacking around Australia for three months. I saved up a few grand, quit my job and flew to Sydney, then went to Melbourne and up the East Coast, which was an incredible experience. I remember running out of money and getting my mum to send me a few hundred quid, which helped me get by.
I started modeling when I was about 2 or 3 years old; I started with Baby Guess, and I did Guess Kids, and that was the extent of my modeling career as a kid. I took all of my elementary, middle and high school years off to focus on school and sports.
I went to drama college in England - the Central School of Speech and Drama, in London. I was there for not quite two years, then I got Star Wars.
I think after 1970 or so, after I sold Soul City, I took off for awhile and didn't do too many gigs.
After 1999, I thought that I needed a break. As a senior composer, I didn't like the trend of three music directors working on a single film. But after a few quiet years, I was back for good.
Obviously, many people may remember me as the first winner of 'The Apprentice,' but prior to that, I was an entrepreneur. I started my first business when I was in college, and then getting my lucky break was when Donald Trump hired me on.
I made the decision to come back to New York, quit my job and move to Paris.
Right after college, a buddy of mine was moving to Boulder for some summer program, and he was like, 'Come live with me.' And I figured, why not? I love Colorado.
I never thought I will ever get back into films when I took that break. 'English Vinglish' just happened.
I got a call from somebody who used to be the president of Little Persons of America. She got called from some producers who wanted someone of a certain size in the John Hughes film 'Baby's Day Out.' So that was my big break, as the stunt double of a nine-month-old.
I took three years off. I differentiated myself from the industry. Found my identity - sort of... I haven't graduated yet. I'm not legitimately educated yet, but maybe one day.
There have been periods of my career that I haven't worked for a really long time, like seven or eight months.
When 'MADtv' got cancelled, I didn't work at all - for three years.
I want to be a mom. It's something that when I do have kids, I think I will retire from making music for a while.
In 2004, I took a one year sabbatical to finish my second novel, A Thousand Splendid Suns. At the end of that year, I was not done with my book, and had to in effect resign from work. I did. I never went back.
I think obviously we need to work harder at extending the women's movement. How do women who have prepared for careers and have a child get back to the workplace and still fulfill maternal roles?
When two kids came along, I couldn't see how I could support them. The way it played out, I was away from the theatre for five years. I was a postie for the first part and then worked as an advertising copywriter, but I somehow found my way back.
