Jennifer Beals Quotes

I said, wouldn't it be nice, instead of having these women fight with each other over men, which seems to be more of a cliche, wouldn't it be wonderful if they were the true comrades and it took these men much more time to infiltrate their friendships.

There is this incredible, indelible community that has sprung up around the show, a community that gathers in homes and clubs, from Los Angeles to Topeka, Kansas and around the world. A community that, in some places, meets quietly in a lesbian bar that doesn't even exist depending on whom you ask.

It looks like a marathon. And I'm proud that I'm not a DNF (did not finish). I'm not a DNF yet. I just kept going. I think that's been the key is just to keep going and really try to get better and try to be as truthful as I can and hope that good things come my way.

I think for me, when I'm looking at a script I really try to consider what experience am I embarking upon, because for me it's really about the experience.

Love is the greatest light, the brightest torch, and will always be the greatest instrument of change.

[Demystifying lesbian sex for an interviewer] In a way, the sex isn't really that different ... From what I can tell, no, not really. All the things that men and women do together, think of everything that men and women do together, women and women can do together. And that makes you realize that sex is just simply about connecting with another person, or about intimacy ...

I think that in some ways everybody is like Roger. Everybody thinks that when their friends have a problem, that they know the answer and that it's much easier to analyze the problems of other people than your own.

[On how she goes about trying to live authentically] Well really listening to my point of view and if I am on a set, say, that doesn't really value a woman's point of view, regardless of how they feel, continuing to give my point of view and try to find a way to be heard and not diminishing myself because other people are diminishing me. Because that, I think, is the worst temptation that, you know, you judge yourself by how others are judging you, and to fall into that trap is to walk into the realm of self-annihilation.

The L Word reaffirmed that good storytelling has a way of creating community. Fans everywhere have been connecting with each other online, in public and at home-viewing parties.

I think science and spirituality are one and the same, I don't think they're really different ... quantum physics is validating all kinds of spiritual teachings.

[Speaking about same-sex marriage] It's about familiarity, and I think the only reason they're uncomfortable with the notion of same-sex marriages is because they haven't come into contact with gay and lesbian couples enough to understand that it's about love and that it is a civil right.

I'm always shocked that gay marriage is such a big deal. You have to realize how precious human life is, when there are tsunamis and mudslides, when there are armies and terrorists - at any moment, you could be gone, and potentially in the most brutal fashion.

It has been said, "History is written by the victors." I take this to mean we can make ourselves victorious by writing, and then rewriting our own stories. In a country and culture so dominated by media, by the manipulation of words and stories, telling the tales of people whose stories historically have not been told is a radical act and I believe an act that can change the world and help rewrite history.

Making sure that when my child went to school people were enlightened enough not to torture them, you know?

It's been perfect. I can still ride a subway and work with great people. I can't imagine being Julia Roberts. I don't have the fortitude to withstand that kind of attention.

Whether it's that moment in acting when everything is suspended and you're not yourself, or breaking through the veil of a very long run or swim, or hearing my daughter laugh they are all pathways to what I think God must be.

I am strong-willed, and I am driven, and I am passionate ... but I don't have ... a central cause ... a motivating cause, I don't know what that would be ... other than trying to tell the truth when I work.

My husband does so many romantic things for me, it's absurd.

I think the central metaphor of the movie is this notion of what the advertising industry does. In order to make someone want to buy something, they first have to make them feel bad about who they are in order to sell them that thing which will make them whole again, and happy again.

[On cancer] One of the problems is that the notion of cancer has been so normalized. You hear about it so often, and it's not ok ... it's not ok to normalize this disease. And with all of the pinkwashing that goes on where companies are selling products based on breast cancer month it's a lovely gesture, but consumers get so used to it that it becomes more normal.

You can make yourself feel better about yourself if you project your shadow side, if you project your own potential for evil onto someone else. By annihilating them and, therefore, your shadow, you bring yourself into some state of purity or reformation.

Oh, this absolute loneliness and the game - loving to play the game, loving to go and tell stories to men that certainly weren't true, just for the sport of it, just to see how they would react.

Love is large; love defies limits. People talk about the sanctity of love
love is by definition sacred. Not some love between some people, but all love between all people.

I think that the two of them have been doing this for a really long time and it is more like sport. Yes, they would love to find a lasting relationship, but it's not likely to happen the way they are going about it.

[On yoga] Once you've completed a wonderful class, you get a sense of the deepest, purest part of yourself. You feel like you are connected to everybody else in the world.

You automatically are trusting because not only is the person a friend, they are so incredibly gifted that you know someone is going to be able to hit the ball back to you across the net.

[On boxing] [For] The Chicago Code, I did some boxing. It makes you stand differently when you know you can punch someone out.

Giving feels good. It is a form of healing. Not just for you as an individual, but for everyone.

The ways in which we are similar are far more numerous than the ways in which we are different.

We can have the final word on hate, neglect, disease and all the other insidious characters that still script their way into our stories ... for now, but not forever.

[On meditation] ... that's the single most important thing that I do ... there's something about understanding who you truly are. The essence of everyone is so beautiful that it's startling.

I'm just talking specifically of women's friendships. If two women go to a bar and they are fighting over men, it makes it much easier for the men. If two women are very close and they act as it makes it very difficult for the men to pull one over on anybody.

I'm interested when people will stand up for themselves. I'm always interested in that moment when someone decides it's not good enough, and even though it's painful, they're willing to make a change.

For me, running is about freedom. I find that the freer I feel, the faster I am.

Politics is a lot like sex - if you want something, you have to ask for it, if they're not doing it right you've got to speak up and show them and if you still don't get what you want, then there is nothing wrong with doing it yourself.

My role models are Bettie Page and Mia Kirshner. Every day when Mia comes to work she raises the bar for us all.

When I was younger, I enjoyed being strong, and I loved it when my heart was very strong, but I think it was also about submitting to the cultural idea that if you're a 22-year-old woman, you have to look a certain way. I'm not into that anymore. But I do appreciate it when my clothes fit.

When you have to play a character that seems to be a relatively decent person and seems to be like yourself, I think the trick in that kind of character, so that you don't become a cliche, is to find where their weaknesses are.

Inside every woman there is a Kali. [Hindu goddess who morphed into seven hidden beings to win a battle] Do not mistake the exterior for the interior.

[B]eing part of The L Word made me realize how much more television can be that what I had experienced in my lifetime in terms of being able to be of service to people. I had so many fans come up to me who were really deeply appreciative of the show and what it had meant for them and their own sense of identity and their own sense of inclusion in our society and in our culture.

[Her message to women and girls of the world] You are more powerful than you can possibly imagine. You are more powerful than you can possibly imagine. And it is incumbent upon you to use that power
not only for yourself, but for everyone else around you.

I knew there was something I had to do yesterday. I couldn't remember what it is. I can't figure it out. I know it's a holiday. I know I don't have a meeting. It's very confusing.

The love scenes that worked, regardless of the director, were the ones where the actors weren't fearful. When somebody was fearful, you could see it right away. It takes you out of the story, and that's to be avoided at all costs.

Of course, the surest way to free yourself from an existential crisis is through comedy.

Even when I think about the fact that energy can become matter and matter can become energy, I have a very strong feeling that there's something afterward.