Andie MacDowell quotes:

When my mother had four girls, and she could tell her marriage was falling apart, she went back to college and got her degree in music and education.

People that are 40, they don't sit around at talk about gray hair and how it covers their hair. They talk about highlighting, of course they're covering gray, but they don't talk about it that way. They're going to get their colors because they need a little lightening.

Kindness can come from someone on Twitter, it can come from someone on the street, it can come from someone at work. Without kindness, I don't know what I would do. The greatest part of life is the simple things.

I play games on-set at work. Sometimes I can't remember people's names, so I start throwing out clues. Like if I can't think of George Clooney, I'll say, 'You know, drop-dead gorgeous, was on a big TV show... ' Until someone says his name, I can't finish my story!

For me, it's sad to say, but I would probably have a spiritual marriage but not a legal marriage, because I think so much about marriage starts to become about finances. It has nothing to do with God or feelings or the romantic side of marriage. It's about who owns what, who gets what? So what's the point?

My high school experience was kind of like 'Mean Girls.' It was very much like a bad B movie. 'This is where the jocks sit, and this is where the cheerleaders sit.' And I never really fit in. I guess I was sort of a theatre geek, but the activity that I was most invested in was speech and debate.

In 1984, I starred in 'Greystoke: The Legend Of Tarzan,' my first movie. My lines ended up being dubbed by Glenn Close, supposedly because my accent was 'too southern'. It was completely humiliating at the time. I became a laughing stock. I'm amazed that I managed to pick myself up and dust myself off.

I've had some really big hits with 'Groundhog Day' and 'Michael,' 'Multiplicity,' 'Four Weddings and a Funeral.'

In modeling, because you're the center of attention, it builds up people's egos. Sometimes people lose touch with reality. But that happens with acting, too.

I am committed to ovarian cancer research on a national level and in my community in the Carolinas. It is important to me to know the women that are true fighters of this difficult disease.

I feel like I've had so many successes on so many levels, even if it is just my relationships with my friends.

As I celebrate life, I can't help but think how young my mom was when she died of a heart attack at 53. My mom didn't get to meet her grandchildren, but I'm determined to watch mine grow up.

As a single mother of four, my mother taught me that you always want to show up strong for the moments that really matter with family, friends, and community. I now recognize how her strength helped shape the person I am today and the mother that I have become.

I've been a Christian for a long time, and I think that Christianity gets a bad rap. I think that people's perception of what a Christian is today is something that is close-minded and narrow, and that's not what I am.

Diane Keaton, I've worked with her as a director, and I think she's a really intelligent woman. I like the fact that the things that make her feel beautiful are more than just her face; it's who she is, and I live by that same theory. There are things I want to achieve in my life intellectually that make me feel beautiful.

I've been practicing Ayurvedic medicine, and I've read the 'Bhagavad Gita' and Rumi, and these are very important.

I'm a huge Muppets fan. Gigantic. I think they're genius. I think they're some of the best work out there and completely underrated, just because of how genius they are. I love that kind of humor. It's so innocent but brilliant.

I can usually tell when a woman is going through a divorce because they look so gaunt and tired and sad. It's just a huge sadness. It's horrible. It's like death. You mourn, but the person's still there.

I willingly devoted myself to my children and to my husband. I come from a broken home, and I decided a long time ago that I would put my family ahead of everything.

I eat healthy, but that doesn't mean I don't enjoy myself. I eat ice cream and chocolate, as my metabolism is pretty fast because I work out so much.

I want to play some really good, interesting, crazy characters. I want to take some chances. I want to take risks. I want to have fun and just keep working. That's all I really care about.

Don't worry about the room being messy! Everything can't be perfect - you have to let some things go, and it's better to actually sit down on the floor with your child than spend time worrying about having a perfect house.

I think the human body is beautiful, and I don't really have a huge problem in dealing with it, but it's the context, the environment and what I feel about it that that makes the difference for me.

When the children were little, I'd fly into L.A. for a specific work project, but then I'd leave again, and when I was home, I wouldn't even read a script.

I'm not a huge TV person. I don't like having the noise when I'm doing other things unless I'm really lonely, and then I turn the TV on. But I do like to sit down and watch TV in the evenings.

I'm comfortable in front of a camera, and I'm used to being watched, although that kind of bugged me at first. On the stage, though, I'm scared. I really get frightened in front of people.

I can't see as well as I used to. Which is actually convenient because everything I see is in extremely soft focus! I think that's God's little gift to me.

In the days when I used to tweet, I would encounter comments wishing death upon me. There were people who claimed they were sticking pins in my effigy because they couldn't stand me. There's some seriously disturbed people out there.

I think hidden underneath a lot of teachers are very sexy women.

I am an advocate for going to the doctor and going every year. I make sure that part of the checkup is spent talking about my heart with my doctor, and getting my numbers checked, and discussing the results. And I make sure that I understand the answers to my questions.

Looking back, I realise I had to grow up and be responsible at a very tender age.

I've had a great experience in the fashion business.

How do I think the industry's changed? Films have changed a lot. I think women are finally able to get older and be sexy just like men. So I'm really enjoying that part - that's my evolution.

My children haven't even seen most of my movies.

It's so funny to get a call from Dustin Hoffman because he has that great voice.

I try really hard not to be attached to success.

I did three movies in a row, and that was horrible. It was a horrible experience for me.

I tried to tell them about the dating process because I'm single now and how horrible it is and how many foolish experiences I had had dating. So I was really selling him hard, but the whole time he really wanted me!

I was six when my parents divorced, and that was tough for me.

Some women are naturally thin. But there needs to be an appreciation for a variety of types of women because we don't all come in one package. We're not pre-destined to all be a size six.

Being prepared helps you feel more confident at the doctor's office. Think about what you want to ask and write those questions down.

I eat an enormous amount of fruits and vegetables.

The problem with my mother is that she didn't go to the doctor. And I think by the time she started to show symptoms that something might not be right, and finally went to the doctor, she was so close to her death that she couldn't get the care she had needed. Her big issue was not going to the doctor.

I've always been a very active person.

Angry people are not beautiful.

When you are authentic, you create a certain energy... people want to be around you because you are unique.

I think a lot of times people who jump from one movie to another don't enjoy their private life. It's a great way to escape reality. But I enjoy my life.

Wonderful things happen when you turn 50: you change perspective. You ask, 'Who am I? What do I want to do with my life? What have I not done that I want to do?'

Women who make the choice to have grey hair - I think that's beautiful.

My mother and grandmother both had beautiful skin.

Being a model, you know, it's a short-lived vocation.

I like being a part of something. I like participating and being part of a group.

Pregnancy changed my body; it changed the way I walk.

I'm really addicted to water. I carry a bottle of water everywhere I go. I know people think I'm a nut.

There is a comfortable feeling in small towns. It is salubrious.

I loved dancing as a young girl.

My goal is to do cartwheels for the rest of my life.

The thing is, we live in a contemporary world, and being able to make yourself the best person you can possible be can be difficult. But as long as you're trying to figure it out, and you're really looking in the right direction, everything's going to be all right.

I never dye my own hair, I don't know if I could get every spot, and I have a good bit of grey.

I was from a little rinky-dink town - to be a model... it looked like a lot of fun. I'd look at the girls, and they always looked happy.

I think every time in your life is valuable, and you need to exist in that moment. Because if you don't - you lose it.

I'm really not techno-savvy - that's just not my personality.

We don't need any more reality TV, women yelling at each other. I can't watch that stuff.

I wish there was a news channel that really told you what was going on in the world, not just sensationalized news.

My girls have been a great support to me. I come to them when I need to make a decision; they love to watch me work.

As an actor, you don't know what is going to come next.

Where I live, the majority of men are married to women their own age.

I remember when Meryl Streep did an ad for American Express, the press harassed her.

I love being an advocate for women as we get older so that we can feel comfortable with ourselves. It's all about being healthy for me now.

I love being an advocate for women as we get older so that we can feel comfortable with ourselves.

It kind of cracks me up when people say I'm hot because I just think that that's a term that I don't have to deal with anymore.

The truth is that humans have the potential to be horrific. And I think being conscious of that is important.

My biggest regret is rolling in regret. It is best to pick yourself up , dust yourself off and move on.

Talking to your hairdresser is almost like talking to your therapist,

During Katherine Hepburn's time when she was just coming into her own at 40.

My children without a doubt are my greatest accomplishment. If I did nothing else I would feel just having and raising them would be enough. The rest is icing.

During my teen years, I was real emotional. I could be really up or down.

I think there is sexy. And then there's tacky sexy. When you're young, you can get away with tacky sexy. I mean, it's not even tacky when you're young. But when you get older, it's just tacky.

As a proud spokesperson for L'Oreal Paris, I have communicated the 'Because You're Worth It' message many times, and know firsthand how empowering it is to say and how empowering it feels.

I never 'shunned' L.A., like people say. And I do think you can raise children well there, but it's definitely harder.

Sexiness comes with maturity.

I make an enormous amount of salads, but my salads are like meals. They're amazing. I like going down to the farmers' market and looking to see whatever you can find, because you can put anything in a salad.

I'm sorry, but in my generation and where I came from, only sailors got tattoos. Not ladies.

During my 40s, I thought I couldn't wear red lipstick. I thought it was just too much and I couldn't do it anymore. I don't know why. But now, I'm going to wear red lipstick for as long as I want.

I've heard that George Clooney did something like nine pilots before 'ER' was picked up, way back when he was doing TV. It's just the way the business works. There are a lot of pilots that we've never seen. It's protocol.

I've already made a substantial commitment to wildlife by putting my land in the easement. It won't be developed. It will remain there in perpetuity - will be there for the wildlife.

When I was 23, basically I stopped modelling and started going to school, and was able to study with wonderful teachers.

If you carry around anger and ugly emotions it will show on your face.

I don't want to be agitated so much on television. I don't need to watch any more agitation.

I've worked with producers who have told me to lose weight, and I'm not overweight, but they want you to look strange, anorexic, horrible. It's odd. It's like they are exerting a power over women, that they want them to look really frail.

I'm actually a pretty clean-cut person.

I think women have an innate ability to be intuitive with people that they truly love, but they have to trust that inner voice, and I think it is there. I think we are more intuitive than men.

I think sometimes we seem to obsess on negativity.

There are loads of actresses that modelled. They just weren't famous. There weren't a lot that were really known as models that became actresses, but there are hordes of them that did modelling before such as Anjelica Huston, Jessica Lange, Sharon Stone, Demi Moore and Geena Davis. There are loads of 'em.

Diane Keaton was a big role model for me.

I was fortunate to be able to do two movies with Harold Ramis. He was the kindest of any director with whom I worked. Harold was a genius. On top of his talent, he could do the 'New York Times' crossword puzzle faster than anyone! I am lucky to have known him as well as I did. I will miss him.

Some women are naturally thin. But there needs to be an appreciation for a variety of types of women because we don't all come in one package. We're not pre-destined to all be a size six. It's very hard for a large group of women to maintain a thinness which is, after all, only natural to a few people.

I always think I look better after a yoga class. It's the same as a massage. We look so amazing after a massage because we're relaxed.

I remember tap-dancing and singing in front of the TV when I was a kid, telling my dad to stop watching Ed Sullivan or Milton Berle and watch me.

When I modeled, I lived in Europe and worked all the time. I did runway, and that's all I did.

When your kids are their hungriest, put out raw vegetables and dip - simple. It takes two seconds.

I need some downtime before I go to sleep.

I'm not a party person. I'm a nerd. I'm not an extrovert in that way at all. The things I enjoy doing could be boring to somebody else.

Oh, all southern women say they're sorry. You could do almost anything, bump into some one, don't spread the jam right, you're always sorry. I've had people tell me to stop saying it so much!

I like what L'Oreal stands for, which is women of worth.

I think yoga has given me better posture. People don't realise how strong it makes you. You have to use your body weight to hold yourself. As you get older, you're supposed to lift weights, but I find that kind of boring. Yoga is lifting my own body.

Because of technology today, we expect kids to stay in touch with us too much. I think that's unnatural. We really do have to give kids their freedom and allow them to go off and become adults.

I wouldn't wear really short dresses anymore - just don't feel comfortable in them.

I still love finding the soul of the characters I play and defining who they are. This to me is my paint set, and the colors are always exciting to choose.

I love the idea of living a life that is completely humble and quiet.

I'm always reading several books at the same time, depending on how deeply engrossed in it I am, if it's fiction and if it captures me.

Someday, I'll make a movie with a British accent.

My mother and I used to watch 'Maude,' and I think she loved 'Maude' because my mother wanted to see strong women out there with a voice.

My kids learned to be independent.

You can't be perfect at everything.

I like to work out every day. I run, walk, do machines. I'm not neurotic about food. My rule is, don't let yourself get over a certain weight. If you gain 5lb, stop before it gets worse.

I love learning, and I think that curiosity is a wonderful gift.

I had a whole bunch of very successful movies. I have worked with some incredible people - incredible.

I love 'Forrest Gump;' I like sweet, cheery, happy movies. But it has some dark moments too.

A man who opens a door for a woman or gives up his seat for her-even offering to carry something! Those are country manners that never go out of style.