I know social rules in Iran are very conservative and I am very respectful for that and every type of culture.

"I`m going to be the female Elvis," she was quoted as saying in a 1999 People magazine piece.

"My very first day [on The L Word] I met Kate [Katherine Moennig] for the first time, and it was like, "Sarah, meet Kate. Kate, Sarah. Kate, you`re going to be going down on Sarah. Sarah, you are going to have an orgasm. Welcome to The L Word."

“I think controversy is good. It makes people think. I go to work every day and it’s like I stand up for the rights of every human being in the world. There’s lots of satisfaction that comes out of that. It brings the biggest smile to my face.”

“Going to the moon made more sense than being an actress on a TV show. It wasn’t a reality.”

"I was maybe too naive to even think, `What if this doesn`t work?` But I think my `Why can`t I do this, too?` attitude worked to my advantage. I just didn`t think that any of the deception and scandals of Hollywood would ever touch me."

"I`m not one to be messed with. I can be bad when it needs to happen."

I`m kind of a mutt: My dad`s Persian, my mother is Spanish, and I was born in Texas. Growing up, all I wanted to be was white because all my friends had blond hair and blue eyes. Then I came to L.A. and realized, Oh, maybe it`s good to be different."

"I realized early on that it was important to have those values – a morality and ethics that come with being Southern girl. The way you treat people – little things, the niceties like hellos, like courtesy. They mean something."

I’m so happy I grew up there [in Euless]. It sounds corny, but there’s something about the South – the hospitality, the charm."

"[My mum] always taught us there`s no difference between your hand and your boob. They`re body parts and if you have it, flaunt it. You`re not going to be flaunting it when you`re seventy-five."

“I was 11, and I was going to a birthday party. I developed at a very young age, and I wasn’t comfortable with it. I would wear baggy clothes. And my mom said: ‘You’re not going until you put on a skirt! Celebrate your body!”

I was the teacher’s favorite, but never the kids’s favorite.”