M*A*S*H offered real characters and everybody identified with them because they had such soul. The humor was intelligent and it always assumed that you had an intellect.

When I left the house to become an actress, my mother literally flung her body across the door and said, 'You're killing me!' It was a very strict household. That can be okay, but there was also no nourishment, either.

It wasn't so much that I was all alone on stage, but it was the realization of how much you need the response ... you need the audience to tell you where to go.

So much of life is luck. One day you make a right turn and get hit by a car. Turn left and you meet the love of your life. I think I made the correct turn.

The very first month I played it [Shirley Valentine] I felt like I was flying without a net. But once I realized that the audience was my partner I was flying a jet, because the people would allow me to develop the character on stage . . .

It's really time for us to grow up and discover our vaginas.