I love books.

I`ve learned the art of ignoring people. When people give you some piece of direction you don`t like, you just nod and ignore it. Just don`t do it! Most people want to be heard and acknowledged, anyway. Just do what you want to do. [On how she handles people who disagree with her.] (Vanity Fair - September 2004 - "Regally Blonde" by Leslie Bennetts)

Confidence is everything in this business.

It`s one of those endless competitions, but it`s like running a race toward nothing. "There`s no winning. You`re never going to win the thin race. You`re never going to win the pretty race. You`re never going to win the smart race. You`re never going to win the funny race. I just want to be the best version of myself I can be. [About the harsh standards placed on women by Hollywood.] (Vanity Fair - September 2004 - "Regally Blonde" by Leslie Bennetts)

For our first date, I made Ryan Hamburger Helper, which is basically what I grew up on. I make my own version of it now, with macaroni and cheese and hamburger meat. And the kids - it`s their favorite dinner.

I like work. If it`s not hard enough, I try to make it harder. I like the process of being daunted by it, tackling it, and knowing I can do it. (Vanity Fair - September 2004 - "Regally Blonde" by Leslie Bennetts)

It really bothers me when people don`t use coasters. Particularly on my table.

Being a Southern person and a blonde, it`s not a good combination. Immediately, when people meet you, they think of you as not being smart.

But listen, I`m 29-years-old, I`m really lucky to be there and whatever happens I`ve been really blessed already. I have plenty of awards for this movie and if this was it for me I`d be really content.

We each own one car, and we have a reasonable house. It`s a lovely place to be, but it`s not extravagant.

I think everyone has their own set of problems, and sometimes I feel I`m in the middle of the biggest challenge of my life just trying to maintain normalcy in a kind of crazy lifestyle.

I love to cook comfort food. I`ll make fish and vegetables or meat and vegetables and potatoes or rice. The ritual of it is fun for me, and the creativity of it.

I feel very blessed to have two wonderful, healthy children who keep me completely grounded, sane and throw up on my shoes just before I go to an awards show just so I know to keep it real.

What gets me is how many women - young women - give up their power and sense of self. Thinking they`re going to get more out of life if they take off their clothes and objectify themselves, instead of functioning on the principle that they`re smart and capable, that you can be an actress and not be on the covers of T&A magazines. I`m flabbergasted by how many legitimate actresses do that. It blows my mind.

I get crazy in a bookstore. It makes my heart beat hard because I want to buy everything.

To play June, I had an immediate connect with her background and culture. We grew up with the same religion and shared a lot of the same values of family and spirituality. But I was really so inspired by what a modern woman she was.

Even now, people want to marginalize me. They want to attribute all my success to teenagers seeing my movies. I really resent it when people say, "It`s just a genre film; it`s a teen comedy." It takes a lot of work to make these things have heart and resonance so they`re not just empty, disposable confections. But I don`t give a damn about other people`s perceptions, because I`ll show them. For women in this business, ascendancy is always a battle. It`s scrape and claw. I just try to stick to my guns and respect myself. I want to take the ingenues aside and say, "Value yourself! It`s O.K. if you have opinions!" [On struggling to be taken seriously in the industry.] (Vanity Fair - September 2004 - "Regally Blonde" by Leslie Bennetts)

I read while the kids play. I can see them from the kitchen window. And I`m a fast reader.

(Part of Oscar Speech) I am so blessed to have my family here tonight. My mother and my father are here. And I just want to say thank you so much for everything, for being so proud of me. It didn`t matter if I was making my bed or making a movie. They never hesitated to say how proud they were of me. And that means so very much to a child. So thank you, Mom and Dad. I want to say thank you to my wonderful husband and my two children who should be going to bed. And thank you for loving me so much and supporting me. And I want to say that, my grandmother was one of the biggest inspirations in my life. She taught me how to be a real woman to have strength and self respect, and to never give those things away. And those are a lot of qualities I saw in June Carter Cash. People used to ask June how she was doing, and she used to say -- `I`m just trying to matter`. And I know what she means. You know, I`m just trying to matter, and live a good life and make work that means something to somebody. And you have all made me feel that I might have accomplished that tonight. So thank you so much for this honor".

I don`t think these women are stupid. I think they`re selling a personality that`s very marketable: Wouldn`t it be fun if we were all gorgeous and didn`t have a care? But creating a cultural icon out of someone who goes, "I`m stupid, isn`t it cute?" makes me want to throw daggers at them! I want to say to them, "My grandma did not fight for what she fought for, and my mother did not fight for what she fought for, so you can start telling women it`s fun to be stupid." Saying that to young women, little girls, my daughter? It`s not OK. (Marie Claire - September 2005)

I have to turn down roles I really want to do because I can`t travel. But that`s okay, because you make peace with things in your mind.

But with the right kind of coaching and determination you can accomplish anything and the biggest accomplishment that I feel I got from the film was overcoming that fear.

Since when is self-improvement a negative? Why wouldn`t I be interested in psychology? I like to read a lot of psychology books. I`m obsessed with child behavior; I would love to be a child psychologist. [On being criticized after admitting she and then-husband Ryan Phillippe have gone to couples therapy.] (Vanity Fair - September 2004 - "Regally Blonde" by Leslie Bennetts)

It`s fun to do a comedy and hook people in and then hoodwink them into watching a serious movie. I like to lead in with the comedy and then hit them over the head with a drama.

I feel like there`s a race being run in Los Angeles for some unattainable goal -to be the best, the skinniest, the most beautiful. I just admit that that`s what I`ll never be. (Marie Claire - September 2005)

And you know, life is a constant learning experience. I learn so much with my kids. I read tons of books and study what they`re studying.

I started working on trying to sound like June from the very beginning.

I`m wary of what goal I set, because then I`ll have to accomplish it. (Vanity Fair - September 2004 - "Regally Blonde" by Leslie Bennetts)

Even people that know Johnny Cash`s music really well and know that he was married don`t really know that much about June Carter. So finding out about her really helped to inform my performance and to bring her to the front in a way that she has never been before.

The thing is, we`re not extravagant people. It`s just unbelievable the amounts of money we make. But we don`t spend it. It`s too scary to spend it.

It`s funny that it all becomes about clothes. It`s bizarre. You work your butt off and then you win an award and it`s all about your dress. You can`t get away from it.

What gets me is how many women - young women - give up their power and their sense of self. Thinking they`re going to get more out of life if they take off their clothes and objectify themselves, instead of functioning on the principle that they`re smart and capable, that you can be an actress and not be on the covers of T&A magazines. I`m flabbergasted by how many legitimate actresses do that. It blows my mind. (Marie Claire - September 2005)

I feel there are certain people who are systematically ripping [feminism] down because of their lack of regard and their ignorance about what the women before us had to go through. (Marie Claire - September 2005)

Many people worry so much about managing their careers, but rarely spend half that much energy managing their lives. I want to make my life, not just my job, the best it can be. The rest will work itself out.

I`m just chatty. But I do express my opinion.

That said, my kids are at home right now with my husband and I`m missing something important at my daughter`s school which makes me feel sick inside. It`s a lot of balance and a lot of really hard decision making.

I`m pretty conservative or old-fashion, I should say, it`s how I grew up. I think you have to let your children be individuals, but you have to set boundaries. Ryan and I have similar ideas about all of it, you really have to support you partner in the things that are important to them and hold the line together.

I take the kids to church and Sunday school. They love it. I really think it`s important for a child to feel that there are things that are bigger than your life out there.

I don`t believe in perfection. I don`t think there is such a thing. But the energy of wanting things to be great is a perfectionist energy.

I have cellulite. I have stretch marks. I feel intimidated by Victoria`s Secret. Hollywood is one of those endless competitions, but it`s like running a race toward nothing. There`s no winning. You`re never going to win the pretty race. I just want to be the best version of myself that I can be.

I think movies are great and I have a great time making them but they`re not what keeps you warm at night, or what`s ultimately the most important thing in anyone`s life journey.

I think women are natural caretakers. They take care of everybody. They take care of their husbands and their kids and their dogs, and don`t spend a lot of time just getting back and taking time out.

Well I had my kids so young that I kind of feel that I`m a kid too and am growing up with them. The things they`re interested in tend to really influence me.

They want people they can push around. I was the girl who was always asking, "Why? Yeah, I know you want me to do that - but why?" I always thought people wanted to hear my opinions. [Grins] But I gave them anyway. It`s just blind self-confidence. I get like a little terrier about things. My mother says I should have been an attorney. [On asserting herself, even with her employers.] (Vanity Fair - September 2004 - "Regally Blonde" by Leslie Bennetts)

That said, I`d love to do a musical, either in film or on stage.

Well I always wanted to be Dolly Parton when I was a little girl. I was obsessed with her.

I got a role in this movie called Freeway playing this really angry, aggressive, violent young woman who believed wholeheartedly in the truth. I had such satisfaction afterward, and I thought, That`s what I want to do.

Ryan and I didn`t grow up like this at all, with this much attention. We`ll just try to keep their feet on the ground and raise them with the values we were raised with.

The joy we get as actors is out of transforming ourselves into something that`s not necessarily anything true to ourselves. And it`s a power - not being yourself, and being in the role; it`s just like another prop.

When I was a question on Jeopardy!, that`s when I felt famous.

I feel like there`s a race being run for some unattainable goal - to be the best, the skinniest, the most beautiful. I just admit that`s what I`ll never be.

About dual careers and marriage: "Marriage and family come before everything. You don`t want to make a movie at the cost of your relationship."

"Life isn`t just about you: It`s about family and friends and giving back." quoted in Woman`s World magazine 2-21-06

The director came to us and he said "No, I really want you guys to learn to sing. To learn to play instruments and I want you to record an album". and that is what... and I just absolutely was just gob-smacked and I said .. "I don`t know. I can`t do that." And he said "Well I want you to try." Now that`s the thing for me. If someone asks me to try, I will always try. - On doing her own singing in Walk the Line (2005).

I did. I called my attorney. My agent. My manager. I said "You know y`all, you`re serious about this? I`m really.. I gotta get out of this. Like can`t they call `Leann Rimes`? I mean she`s good." - On trying to get out of the part of June Carter Cash in Walk the Line (2005).

[Asked about the ways she is discriminated against] "I get discriminated against in three ways: I get discriminated against because I`m blond, I get discriminated against because I`m an actress and I get discriminated against because I`m from the South."

I do think things were meant to happen. I`m just this little girl from Tennessee, and here I am today. I think a lot of things are just out of your hands.

I was thinking about why I make movies, and I know why. Life is hard. It`s nice to go escape and have a good time at the movies. If I can give people a movie about hope, love and the future, then I`ve done my job.

"There`s something timeless and important about making people laugh, about being the right spot in their day." - as quoted in the Dec 7, 2004 issue of Woman`s World

[On husband Ryan Phillippe] "I don`t think I can imagine a better guy than the one I`ve ended up with".

"It`s nice to come home to what`s real." - E! "Revealed with Jules Asner" (2001).

Attending an all-girls school has its advantages, there are no inhibitions. You can walk to school with your zit cream on and your hair in rollers and nobody cares.

"While making Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde (2003), I had like 50 outfit changes. It was great! I`m real into the whole "girlie" thing, it was a lot of fun. I really enjoyed it".

I`m not perfect! I`m human. I make mistakes. But I try to be as conscious as I can about things I should be. If I`m going to do something commercial and mainstream and made for the masses, I just believe you can make those kinds of films with quality - and good ideas and good intentions. There`s a lot of negativity out there.

As far as being in the spotlight and under public scrutiny, a lot of that`s about how much you put yourself out there. It`s not like we go to every premiere and every celebrity function and every charity auction. We really just try to maintain our privacy and never let our public persona get out of hand.

People want to try and move you into a place where you can be easily identifiable by every woman in America - to be this very likable woman in a romantic comedy. And it`s really hard for me. I just don`t see myself as the girl that everybody likes. I never have been and I don`t know how to be that person.

"I grew up in Tennessee. We didn`t know what Louis Vuitton was. I had to order all my prom outfits out of catalogs".

[talking about the movie business]: "The battles that we face in this business aren`t financial, but they are moral. And I certainly think that the longer you can keep your values, and your morality intact, and keep your head on your shoulders about what is important at the end of the day, you can get the most out of this business and really emerge with something wonderful."

[talking about Pleasantville (1998)]: "We were thrilled for just the three nominations we got, but obviously it`s a little sad. I went through so many press junkets with people saying they loved it. And Joan Allen was robbed but she can`t get nominated every year. She`s an inspiration for every young actress. She has that calm and reserve about herself and makes you think she appreciates the normal things of everyday. Then she transforms into this character that`s so different."

[Talking about motherhood and her baby]: "I feel good, I`m proud of Election (1999) and very proud of this [her child]. It couldn`t be a better time. It`s always the right time when it happens. You make it the right time".

[talking about Ryan Phillippe]: "I`m lucky to find a person to share my life, and the best friend I`ll ever have."

[talking about how she choose the films she will be in]: "I have a weird process, but the main thing is like this: I hear her voice in my head. There are a lot of wonderful scripts my agents can`t believe I pass on, but I do because I can`t hear the voice. It doesn`t appeal to me then. I`m really careful. Unless I hear the voice, I can`t do it."

[on having a baby]: "Obviously, this isn`t the time in my life that I would have chosen to do this, but I feel like life gives you these challenges for a reason. I feel so happy and glad to be in the place that I am. I really feel blessed. This is something I need to face and take control of."