NIA VARDALOS

What I wish I had, is that I wish I was a little more Greek, in that I wish I could lose my North American driven attitude and that I could be a little bit more poetic and laissez faire.

You're never too fat for a new purse.

I do recommend it for all girls, and boys, out there: put on a pair of fishnet stockings and find your inner sexiness!

You're not ethnic enough. You're not fat enough. You're not thin enough. You're not blond enough. You're not dark enough. You're not young enough. You're not old enough.

It wasn't easy to adopt an American child. Actually it's quite simple, but finding out how to do it was the hard part.

You only get one life so you might as well make it a happy one, and that's why I tend to just jump into things. I'm sort of a fearless idiot that way.

In many ways we are all sons and daughters of ancient Greece.

Let's face it: Russell Crowe is fat and no one ever talks about it.

It's not like suddenly, when you become a working actor all your friends are in the same situation. I have friends who are still handing out flyers for their one-woman show and trying to make ends meet.

My New Year's Resolution List usually starts with the desire to lose between ten and three thousand pounds.

I thought I was attractive when I shot 'My Big Fat Greek Wedding.' Studio executives and movie reviewers let me know I had a confidence in my looks that was not shared by them.

We live in an unsafe world.

On the publicity tour of 'My Big Fat Greek Wedding,' I was asked over and over again, if, as the writer, I felt it was a fair depiction of real life to have someone of my er, below average looks, hook up with hottie John Corbett.

I don't card out my screenplays ever. I just have an idea I just sit down and write I don't edit.

And (cue music swell) motherhood turned out to be the most meaningful thing I've ever done with my life. Really.

I'd been raised by my parents who taught me not to think you're better than you are.

Socially, the issue of men's weight is simply not a big deal.

On November 15th, 2008, in over 300 cities, 4,000 children were adopted in one day.

When I used to do musical theatre, my dad refused to come backstage. He never wanted to see the props up close or the sets up close. He didn't want to see the magic.

I couldn't get an acting job to save my life when I moved to L.A.

My daughter is a preschooler but I have only known her for a while. She is adopted.

I have found that every family has a strange remedy for any situation - from 'Use Fantastic to get the scuff off your patent leather shoes!' to 'Soak an aspirin in a glass of water to get rid of a migraine.'

Like most women, I thought it would be easy once I decided to start a family. I was surprised that Mother Nature kept poking me in the eye, saying, 'Nope, nope, nope.'

I was worried if you adopted a foster child, someone from the birth family could still come and take her back. I was afraid that any child in foster care might have suffered such trauma or neglect that she would be impossible to reach. I'm not proud of these fears. But I understand now when others ask me the same questions.

On my daughter's first day of kindergarten, another mom said something that made me realize I had become my own Greek, suffocating mother. She said, 'Just think, in 13 years they'll leave us and go to college!' And I went, 'Gulp.'