I wasn't brought up with any religion at all. At school and in my early 20s, I read every religious text I could get my hands on - Buddhist scriptures, Hindu texts, the Qur'an, and the Bible. I wanted to feel like something made sense to me, that there was something sacred I could feel aligned with.
— Jennifer Connelly
Strong brows is what I have, and I embrace them.
Becoming a mother has made all the difference in terms of learning to take more responsibility for myself and my life. Parenthood changed the way I do everything.
Every job I do, I feel like it is an amazing opportunity. I try to throw myself into every role with everything I have.
I was kind of a tomboy.
We equate beauty for women with youth, and that's sad. It's a shame it's so hard for so many of us to appreciate the beauty of an older woman and to accept it in ourselves.
I do a little bit of minimal brow wrangling myself. I get the strays out of the way.
I still get recognized for 'Labyrinth' by little girls in the weirdest places. I can't believe they still recognize me from that movie. It's on TV all the time, and I guess I pretty much look the same.
I've chosen not to live in Hollywood, and instead I live in Brooklyn, New York. It's how I like to live. I'd rather hang out with my kids and family when I'm not working. Going to premieres is not my idea of a fun night out.
I had a good time working with Russell Crowe, Ron Howard and Ed Harris. It was a great cast and Russell worked really hard, doing tons of research and questioning everything.
If you get too attached to how you want it to come out the other side, you freeze. I try to trust that it will work out in the end.
I felt for a long time that this is what I want to do so I'm happy at this point to just take my time and work on projects that I feel strongly about, and the rest of the time just live my life.
People who are incapable of having any kind of intimate relationship have to turn to feeling this incredible hunger and void, have to turn to some quantifiable external product to make them feel whole.
That's a great feeling to know that I'm going into a project that I have no idea what will become of that movie, but I really trust Ang Lee. And I really trusted Ron. It's just really nice to work with people that you feel that way about.
Everything changes as a mother. Yes, work has changed. The projects that I choose are even more important to me now. The world he's growing up in and the kind of stimulus that is out there; they are so precious and I'd do anything to protect him.
I try to stay focused on my life and do try not to be brought into the Hollywood fantasy.
As I get older, I have a clearer sense of what's important to me.
Nobody wants to get rid of their life experiences - you are who you are because of them, no matter if they're good or bad.
At the end of the day, what difference does it make if you made 10 films or 18 films? You made 10 films, but you had a great relationship with your kids, or at least you did your best not to screw them up irrevocably, or you made 18, and they don't return your phone calls.
I would not want to be on a cruise ship. Some ferry crossings I'm not too thrilled about.
I look very serious. I look stern even when I'm not stern. If I'm not feeling cross, I look a little bit cross. I can't help it. It's just my face.
The thing that really matters to me is well-being and happiness. Maybe it comes from knowing people who have tortured themselves trying to meet these strangely narrow and rigorous definitions of what our culture thinks is beautiful.
I'll do a strong eye or a strong lip - but both together? Not so much.
I'll probably at some point get involved in Instagram and things like that because I feel it's reality, and it's the way people communicate.
When it's good it's great, it's really great.
I don't know if I was a star. I was certainly working a lot and that was strange because there were good things about it and things that were difficult.
I try to do a lot of research beforehand so I know where I want to go with a scene. I try not to get too stressed about it, because I find that's the worst thing.
Growing up, being watched from the outside... it's kind of very taxing and maybe I should just do some kind of manual labor-it might be more relaxing. But I can't, it's not in my nature.
I'm so happy in the projects that I'm able to make, to be involved in projects like this. This isn't always where it was at for me, I started working when I was a kid. I'm just a different person now, I'm 30. I started working when I was 11 and it's a different ballgame.
It's funny looking at yourself. You know how it is when you look back at old pictures? It's just funny looking back at yourself walking and talking at age 14.
I can't comment on any outside perception. I'm happy to come out and talk about movies that I've worked on in a setting like this. Otherwise, I have my own life that I live which is very different and private.
I don't want to put happiness off to the future, because you never know what life will bring.
The biggest thing for me is wanting my kids to grow up safely and have happy lives. To me, that's enough.
I pick different projects for different reasons. Usually, it's a combination of things. I admire the director, and I am interested in working with the director. Or, it's the cast. I can be moved by the story. The ideal situation is you love the director and you love the cast.
I'm really blessed. I love my job. Love going to work. I just love it. I love getting it, I love preparing for it. I love the whole process. I love the whole ritual. I'm really very lucky. Lucky girl.
I almost moved into a place over a funeral parlor. My father said, 'That's just too macabre,' but I thought I'd be embracing my mortality. I told him it would keep me grounded - like when people get skull tattoos.
The things I've really loved doing over the years most consistently are running and yoga.
I met David Bowie when I was 14, and he became a hero to me - because he was an artist, and because he was a genius who had the time to be kind. I'd never met such an extraordinary artist before, and I haven't since - the world will be a greyer place without him.
Once I'm comfortable with someone, I'm not reserved. I'm a compulsive confessor.
I didn't expect to win the Oscar. You grow up watching the Oscars on TV and you think it happens to fancy people. It was really surreal.
Dark Water was one of my favourite films to shoot because of Walter. I had seen the previous films he had directed, Central Station and Motorcycle Diaries, and I thought they were great. I really trusted him.
I don't always like my own behavior. I haven't known anyone who is perfect all the time.
You can't predict what someone else is going to do and when someone else is going to leave.
We live in downtown Manhattan and we have pretty big windows that looked right at the World Trade Center. I was home along with Kai and we watched it all happen. I was holding him in my arms and we were looking out the window when the second plane hit.
I do finish reading a script and say, Why are they making it and what are they talking about? I like to try and be responsible in my choices in that way.
It was, when I read it, I thought, such a beautiful script. I loved the story. I thought it was well handled. I thought it was even more moving because it was a true story and that made it even more poignant.
