You're supposed to look a certain way when you're a celebrity, but I want to take care of my baby, and those two things don't mesh very well.
— Jennifer Garner
I never had a problem resisting somebody that I knew was going to break my heart.
Women should take care of each other, not tear each other down.
I always, always meant to be on stage. I only ended up even auditioning for television and movies because I was understudying a Turgenev play on Broadway and was so broke that, when I got a mini-series, I had to take it and was so ashamed because I was such a snob.
My mother and father always supported my passion for acting. I think they just kind of expected me to move to New York and become an actress and have all these adventures.
My mom has always said that the one thing she wishes she had done differently is have a job. She felt like the single-mindedness made her a little nuts sometimes, and she could have used an outlet for herself when we were little.
I feel lucky, though, because even when 'Alias' was popular, I was still sent scripts against type. I've never felt like the world only sees me one way. But yes, it's been really fun to be bad.
I love the feeling of being on a team, rehearsing together, sharing a dressing room - I love that so much.
It's about getting the kids up and fed, getting one to school, getting the other down for a nap, going to the grocery store, picking one up from school, getting the other one down for another nap, cooking dinner... I live my life at these two extremes. I'm either a full-time stay-at-home mom or a full-time actress.
You can do a lot with Scotch tape. Almost anything! I love that you can hem a dress, and its an instant remedy in a fashion crises.
To become a classical ballerina, you have to move to New York when you're 12 or 11 and that becomes your life. I just wanted to be good in my company in Charleston and I wanted it to always be part of my life.
I think that it's not as crazily different, my job, from anyone else's, as people let themselves believe. I think people get wrapped up in their own idea of what it is, but it's really not that.
Well, you can't be trying to achieve success of any kind in this business without accepting that there's going to be a flip side to it.
I love being physical and acting at the same time.
My big sister Melissa, is such a stud and my little sister Suzanna, has always had a perfect body and big blue eyes. We were a force.
I certainly never expected to be in front of a camera one day of my life.
I am the model middle child. I am patient and I like to take care of everyone. Being called nice is a compliment. It's not a boring way to describe me.
I mean, any time an actress gets to work with another actress, it's like, 'Oh, there are two of us in a movie! How are you? Let's sit in the hair chair together!' We're lonely women.
I wish I was one of those cute pregnant girls who wear skinny jeans throughout their pregnancies. But I just gain weight.
I'm privileged, because I have a lot of freedom. I want to use it to make as warm and normal a life as I can for our daughters.
Growing up where I did, the thought of working on a television show or in a movie... that existed on a parallel plane, you know?
I rebelled by not getting straight A's and not following the path that my elder sister did. She was valedictorian and is very exemplary in her way. I look a lot like her, so I just had to do the opposite. Not that I got bad grades, but I was all about performance and just finding any way that I could to be involved in any kind of production.
I hoped, hoped, that maybe I'd be lucky enough to do something on Broadway, in the chorus.
There's an internal battle. I need to work, I need to work, I need to work and I need to be home with my kids and the kids win.
The rule with marriage is the less you talk about it the better, as far as I can tell.
And now, I still really don't care that much but now I have music playing all the time at home, which is a first for me. Whatever. Everything from Ani DiFranco to Dave Matthews to Jack Johnson and Norah Jones.
I don't have this fantasy about marriage anymore. Everyone says it takes hard work. Well, it kind of does - and I'm much more pragmatic about romance than I used to be.
I was a ballet dancer and that kind of bled into musical theater. I was constantly in rehearsal for one thing or another.
I knew we were going to marry someday, but I was absolutely surprised when he actually proposed. And surprised he had bought a ring. I ran around the yard screaming.
Going after 'the bad guy' has not been a real issue for me.
I will tell you what I can't abide - and I think the Internet has really created a space for it - women criticizing other women and mothers criticizing other mothers.
You stick to the script, the script is Bible.
I'm still conflict-averse. I don't like to argue.
My sisters both are working mothers. I understand that my being an actress as well as being at home isn't some heroic thing. That doesn't mean it isn't confusing or difficult - especially that question of how you find a balance.
I wasn't a woman who stayed tiny like I thought I would. I definitely gave myself the freedom to eat what I wanted.
I know I live a charmed, beautiful life and nobody wants to hear a celebrity whine. The last thing I want to do is complain; I love what I do and I know every job comes with a downside.
I remember, my mom didn't have any help, so if she needed to be somewhere after school, we'd just go down to the neighbors' and she'd give us a snack and make sure we did our homework. There weren't any latchkey kids.
I do all my own stunts!
I think that baseball games are like soap operas. If you watch five in a row, you know enough to get hooked.
I'm still really close with everyone at home and their parents - and their brothers and sisters. I was so, so, so lucky to grow up as part of a community and I don't take that for granted. I try very hard to stay part of it.
Beauty comes from a life well lived. If you've lived well, your smile lines are in the right places, and your frown lines aren't too bad, what more do you need?
And you can't hide in a comedy scene either. You have to give in to the scene and commit.
I would roll up pennies to take the subway to work in Times Square. I was broke, but I was happy.
