"People might find me attractive, but it's also my job to prove that I can be intelligent."

"When I watched Ellen come out in '97, my jaw was on the floor. I thought, There are some people who break the doors down, hold them open, and some people who walk right through."

"I did a lot of fast talking as a youth; I was pretty good at it. I was never talked into it - I was always the one doing the talking."

"Supermodels are over, and the new picture girl has become the television actress."

"I knew that I was gay, I knew it. I just couldn't see myself as a gay woman, even though that's where my heart was."

"We must be able to inspire. That's my goal in acting."

"I married him for a green card. We had a really great, caring relationship; it just obviously wasn't right for me."

"In high school I had sex with girls quite a few times. They were straight women who I convinced to jump in the sack with me."

"You live with the fear people might find out. Then you actually have the courage to tell people and they go, I don't think you are gay. It's enough to drive you crazy."

"My sexuality is a part of me that I really like. But it's not the totality of me."

"Everyone is their own kind of lesbian. To think there's a certain way to dress or present yourself in the world is just one more stereotype we have to fit into."

"It sounds so trite, but my private life is mine."

"If you've looked at all the glamour magazines lately, all the covers are actresses. If they are on those covers, they are going to try to emulate models. That's just the way it is."

"When I was anorexic it just seemed like I literally wanted to disappear. And now I would like to reappear."

"Just look at all the awards shows now. It has turned into a catwalk. You have to be wearing a certain designer, a certain dress, and everyone's critiquing."

"I had a hell of a time convincing people I was gay - which was so annoying!"

"I justified it in so many ways. I had a very, very long and difficult struggle with my sexuality."

"My feelings for Ellen overrode all of my fear about being out as a lesbian. I had to be with her, and I just figured I'd deal with the other stuff later."

"I stumbled into acting and just loved it. I deferred law school-and I'm still deferred."

"I was very sexual from a very young age."

"I want to exude strength and intelligence."

"I try to be feminine, yet intellectual and smart at the same time. You don't see enough of that."

"I don't even like watching sex scenes in movies. I have a slight prudish side to me."

"I love being able to wear dresses and clothes that make me feel feminine and beautiful, and I love the fact that I don't have to all the time; I can wear a tank and jeans."

"When you have the paparazzi hiding in the bushes outside your home, the only thing you can control is how you respond publicly."

"I've had so many interviews where the last question is, Are you gay? I had to find very creative ways to say that I was gay, but that I wasn't going to talk about it."

"When I was 15, I changed my name legally. I think it was largely due to my struggle about being gay. Everything just didn't fit, and I was trying to find things I could identify myself with, and it started with my name."

"I ran into Ellen at a photo shoot. She took my breath away. That had never happened to me in my life."

"I have to be asked, I guess, but I love the idea of marriage. I think it's beautiful. I'm such a romantic, and I always have been."

"I thought, I'm out in my life, that doesn't involve my public life."

"I really never stopped thinking about Ellen, because I just haven't felt that kind of energy with anyone in my life."

"If I was 14 and knew some gay people, I wouldn't nearly have had the struggle I had. Our world is definitely changing."

"I saw Ellen and my knees were weak. It was amazing. And it was very hard for me to get her out of my mind after that. Then when I saw her that night, we started talking, and that's that."

"The most important thing for me was to never, ever, ever deny it. But I didn't really have the courage to talk about it. I was thinking, The people who need to know I'm gay know."

"I didn't choose the fact that I was gay, but I did choose whether to live my life as a gay woman-that was the terrifying thing for me. Especially being a gay actress."

"I want young people to see me and think you can be feminine and smart and successful, all at the same time."

"I'm living by example by continuing on with my career and having a full, rich life, and I am incidentally gay."