Ann Dowd

It's a funny thing about being raised Catholic and then going to Catholic schools with nuns - the cliche about the mean nun was not what I had at all. They were very, very smart, devoted individuals.

I remember, as a young Catholic girl in high school, seeing 'The Exorcist,' and it scared the wits out of me.

When I won the Emmy, the profound sense of gratitude when my name was said I cannot express enough. It was one of the most beautiful moments, hands down, of my life.

I have to say my background was mostly theatre, which I love, and it took a long time to feel comfortable there. That's probably true of anyone's career.

I have a family and children I adore and a husband who's wonderful.

When I was pregnant with my first child, I was 35 years old, and I was working in a pet shop.

The first 10 years of my education were spent at a Catholic school in Springfield, Mass.

Sit with silence a lot - real silence, where nothing is happening - because you learn so much in those moments of quiet.

The first time I read 'Leftovers,' I didn't get it at all.

I look at all these wonderful actors who are out of work, and I don't know what accounts for my good fortune, but I'm grateful for it.

I had been a premed student, and the way you got through premed was to work extremely hard and then harder.