"It was in high school that I first became interested in acting. We put on lots of plays."

"For a woman who's a widow and pretty much a loner, I can walk out, and I'm surrounded by NYU kids. The energy jumps off the sidewalks, and I never feel sad or bored."

"I loved doing Shakespeare. My two favorite roles, in fact, have been Viola in Twelfth Night and Helena in A Midsummer Night's Dream."

"I am always happiest in an ensemble."

"You have to risk failure to succeed. The important thing is not to make one single mistake that will jeopardize the future."

"'The Christmas Song,' by Nat King Cole, is not only a masterful performance to me it just sounds like the holidays. I've never sung it, because Nat's version is so perfect. I gotta leave it alone."

"Every year, I am reminded of the kids who aren't in the freshman class and aren't graduating. I remember every single one of them. That is the worst of times for me, to see the future snuffed out."

"It is a timeless truth that he who inspires courage in a single soul has led a monumental campaign — an essential principle for the reflective life."