When you guest-star, you're usually at the center of the dramatic arc, so that's fun.

It's a lot of fun to just say to people, proudly, 'I get to play the First Lady.' It's just fun to say.

The First Lady is such a fascinating office to hold. You're not elected, but it's very much official. You can see the latitude of power of that office.

My dad used to say, 'Just be yourself and you'll be fine,' but it's really, really true.

I think you choose how you walk through this life. I think if you choose to participate in a paradigm that is looks-based, if you're an actor, then it can be empowering in some ways, and it can be really limiting in some ways in terms of time and longevity.

With Yale, my world got so big all of a sudden. At school, if you could dream it, someone would make it so that you could do it. It was magical. I had a lot going on, as you do when you're 17, and didn't necessarily capitalize on all of it, but it made me see possibility in a way that I hadn't before.