Mariska Hargitay Quotes

I am so sick and tired of being told what I'm supposed to look like!

It used to bother me - having bigger, fuller brows. I even plucked them once so I'd fit in, but I hated them and couldn't wait for them to grow back. Now I embrace them. I realized the quirky things that make you different are what make you beautiful.

And there is a beautiful thing which is wonderful, to look like a woman, not a green bean.

I just am who I am.

Believe me, I've taken a lot of heat for my mustache.

When I was in school, I got there on the first day and everyone had long, blonde, straight hair, and I had short, dark, curly hair. I immediately felt I didn't fit in and started growing my hair. But I've learned that I'm only happy when I am truly me and feel comfortable and confident in myself.

When you're not blond and thin, you come up with a personality real quick.

I've been through my highs, I've been through my lows; I've been through the gamut of all things in this business. Being too thin. Being bigger. I've been criticized for being on both sides of the scale. It's noise I block out automatically. I love my body.

I find the whole concept of being 'sexy' embarrassing and confusing. If I do a photo-shoot, people desperately want to change me - dye my hair blonder, pluck my eyebrows, give me a fringe. Then there's the choice of clothes. I know everyone wants a picture of me in a mini-skirt. But that's not me.

Being stick skinny to the extent where you can see your bones through your skin is not a good look. You don't need to be that to be beautiful or to be perfect or to fit in. Who you are is exactly who you should be. You can't let other people dictate your life or how you feel about yourself because then you're not living.

We try to push such crazy ideals onto young women: the Hollywood version of what they should look like, what they should do, and the kind of Prince Charming they should be looking for. We should just be proud of who we are, because we can't be anybody else. So what's the point of trying?

I just want to be myself, and I really, like, can't say I'm sorry for it. I just can't.

It's definitely a little bit ironic being known for my hair because, as a little girl, I had no idea what I was doing with it. I was insecure about it. I didn't have as many references to curly girls, and I wanted to just fit in with all my other friends.

If I didn't have to fit in to sample sizes I'd be a size 14, easy. I wouldn't bat an eyelid.

I'll have men, or I'll have women say that I'll never be a woman because I don't menstruate, or because I'm not made up like Kim Kardashian. So in that sense, I use makeup for a little bit of confidence. But for the most part, day-to-day, I wear makeup if it feels good.

I am who I am. You can either love it or hate it.

I firmly believe in standing by what you are. I was never taught to dim my light to pacify other people.

Lots of people who do bodybuilding want to walk around in tank top and shorts, because they want to show people what they've got - and there's nothing wrong with that. But I didn't want to do that because I didn't care what people thought.

Id rather be seen the way I am now instead of falling over myself walking out of a club.

I don't have to accept what you think I should look like and I do not accept what you think I should look like.

It took a while to grow the confidence to say, 'This is who I am, take it or leave it.'

I find when I have short hair, I feel like I have nothing to hide behind anymore.

I am who I am and I am what I am. And it's beautiful. And it's okay even if it doesn't look like the sexiest Victoria Secret model. It also boils down to my interactions with people.

I'm not barbie, and im alright with that.

The way I move, the way I think, the way I handle myself - it might be by accident, but it's who I am, and I've just learned to own that.