ELLEN POMPEO

Women don't take care of themselves because they take care of everybody else.

Happiness is not that easy to achieve, but having a handsome husband, a beautiful baby, and a great job helps.

Want is misery.

I didn't have a boyfriend until I was 16, and he was eight years older. My father was furious about this 24-year-old, and I had to hide the relationship.

I don't believe in putting on airs. I call it like I see it.

You can't really judge characters, because that's when it gets really hard to play them.

I think for any actor to say they don't like attention is ridiculous. Of course we love attention. But getting attention is different than pretending the attention means something.

I read a lot of nonfiction - especially books about the brain.

I am who I am, a Southie.

Acting can be an amazingly cathartic thing - especially for young girls.

Where I come from, you don't just say, 'Oh, I'm going to become an actor.' Talk like that and they think you're crazy.

Being a mother is magical.

I went up a pants size during my pregnancy.

I just worry about the girls who look up to me. I don't want them to think I starve myself or don't eat, and that to be like me that's what they have to do.

You know, Boston people are full of sauce.

Being a mother is the most fun job I've ever had.

The older you get the more realistic it is that you're significant other is your significant other. I mean, you'll always have your girlfriends or your guy friends, but the person you're married to is usually your No. 1.

It's easy to get lost in the baby. You have to make sure you give your husband attention.

I don't find acting to be a particularly noble way to make a living. I'm not saving anybody's life, I'm not a teacher, I'm not working for UNICEF. I don't think I'm some big deal.

There's a remarkable amount of sexism on TV. When male characters are flawed, they're interesting, deep and complex. But when female characters are flawed, they're just a mess. It's good to put more flawed but interesting female characters out there because it promotes equality.

I was never a person who was introduced to junk food.

Really, I don't care if people think I'm too skinny. This is my body. If they don't like it, screw it.

If I'm bringing joy to people and entertaining people as an actor, then I should be grateful for that and act accordingly, you know?

My daily schedule is quite hectic, but I have to put my health first in order to be the best mom and wife I can be.

Medicine is so fascinating.