Entertainment Weekly, December 1995
“I hated [my first agent] for [saying I would only be successful on TV], because I thought, You have no faith in me. It’s like your father, who instilled doubts in you as a kid.”
“I wasn’t fat, I was just Greek and Greeks are round, with big asses and big boobs.”
“I’m so much more Rachel. More neurotic than Monica, a bit more offbeat.”
“[I long to] drive far away and find little antique stores and bed-and-breakfasts and go hiking… and just take some time out for meeting a man.”
“This little girl online was like, ‘I just got my hair cut like Rachel’s!’ It’s like when I got the Valerie Bertinelli cut, the coolest thing in the world. And I had all these burns on my forehead from my curling iron.”
CL Interview, 1996
“[Steven Spielberg’s Director’s Chair] was very animated and also very quick. We really just worked with a video camera, as opposed to a whole set, which reduced the time that it took to do all the preparation for television and for movies. It was simpler.”
“It was unbelievable to talk with Steven [Spielberg] and be able to discover what a wonderful, down-to-earth guy he is. I mean, you just never know. I’m sure we’ve all had our awful experiences of having idols and then you meet them, and say, ‘Oh my God, how could I have ever looked up to them?’ And you wish you’d just kept them a figment of your imagination. And he was absolutely wonderful – as was Quentin Tarantino. I found it surprising that they could be so curious and interested in me. I almost felt embarrassed answering questions they asked. Steven Spielberg was fascinated by the whole television world.”
“If you keep your eyes open and watch, it’s your choice whether or not to learn. You can’t help but see the process.”
“As it is now, you can [not] really achieve a full, red-blooded, wonderful performance on a computer screen. You just can’t. So I don’t think computers are as much for the actor’s work, really, as for helping the editor to edit, the filmmaker to make films, and the director to direct. It’s more of a production tool than anything else. Still, I do have a fear that actors are going to become obsolete and replaced by computer-generated images.”
“[Computers are] fun – it’s like a new toy. It’s wholly another world that seems to be opening up. Until recently, I’ve tended to be resistant to computers, having a kind of fear of a Big Brother kind of world. I just got a new computer and I enjoy what it does for my life, but I’ll never be a part of some technological overthrow, you know, where computers will take over and you’ll no longer need those 300 workers.”
“In my daily life, I use my computer to write letters, keep a journal, do my finances, make my plane reservations. Right now I’m really just discovering it all, but I plan to do the whole gardening CD-ROM thing, and check out the gourmet-cooking CD’s. Then there’s stuff from Martha Stewart, all sorts of fun home CD’s, if that’s what you’re into, or CD’s for cars. There’s a little bit of everything for everyone.”
“There’s a good and bad side to everything. Especially if you’re an actor. You’re just out there.”
“What’s not sexy about intelligence? I think it’s always been a sign of insecurity to think someone’s a nerd just because they work with technology.”
“If I could have a computer that could do absolutely anything? I’d have it work out for me.”
InStyle, January 1996
“Yeah, I know, everyone loves [The Rachel]. But I’m sick of it and I don’t know what to do, chop it off or grow it long.”
“Rachel’s really a clothes-obsessed Chanel girl who will wear a leopard-print turtleneck. But I’m a one-outfit kind of girl, much more comfortable in khakis and sneakers and T-shirts.”
“I have the most amazing memories [of my childhood]. A bin of oranges that sat in the living room and the cat that lived on our terrace.”
“My parents used to scream at me because I only wore black and I had my cut in a modified mohawk. My boyfriend and I looked exactly alike. [For years, I weighed about] 30 pounds more than I do now. My dad used to say I had an ass you could serve tea off of.”
“I wasn’t beautiful so I had to be funny.”
“It’s scary how Hollywood treats you like this completely different person when you’re thin.”
“I watch what I eat, but I don’t not eat a cheeseburger because life is no fun living on salads and fruits.”
“When I was growing up, I thought Lucille Ball and Mary Tyler Moore were it.”
Rolling Stone, March 1996
“I decided I wanted to be an actress. I remember dreaming about it, about being on TV.”
“I’m baffled. I mean, you think you’re just the most uninteresting person in the world, and then all this happens, and you have to wonder, ‘Is any of it real?’”
“[My parents’ divorce] was awful. I felt so totally responsible. It’s so cliché, but I really felt it was because I wasn’t a good enough kid. And then on top of that, my dad wasn’t great with kids. He loves kids, he loves me, but, you know, I’ve seen guys that are great with their daughters.”
“I went to see Children of a Lesser God on Broadway. I was sitting in the second or third row, and I was just so blown away, and I walked out saying, ‘That’s what I want to do.’”
“I guess I missed the personal things about college, like that whole coming-of-age thing.”
“Women have to become nicer to each other. There’s such catty bullshit that goes on, and my girlfriends and I just started this circle. I remember the first time we did it, this one girl was silent through the whole thing, and then at the end she was just weeping. She just had this huge sort of enlightening kind of experience being with these women, and it was, like, women are awesome, especially together as a group, so kind and warm and wonderful.”
“It’s amazing what a good show will do for your career. It’s a whirlwind. And you have to stop and focus. To stop and ask myself, ‘What’s up? What’s real? What’s going on?’”
“I don’t know whether I’d call him a boyfriend. Especially when it’s so new and I’m so scared and skeptical and have been on this solo thing. Isn’t that weird? I’m dating, and I like him very much. But when do I start to call him a boyfriend? Do you decide to go steady? You don’t anymore. Although Daniel, my old boyfriend, was funny. Three months into dating he said, ‘Will you be my girlfriend?’ Got down on his knees.”
“[Celebrities] are untouchable. They’re onscreen, in print, on billboards, and it’s just a fantasy – not real. It’s created – I mean, even this interview, it’s all media hype. For a while, I was in the tabloids all the time, dating this person or that. If my romantic life was as exciting as they were saying, I would have been happy.”
Marie Claire, August 1996
“The first dress I tried to put on for the Marie Claire cover shoot wouldn’t fit over my hips. I was laughing, and then I said, ‘Could we hold the rest of the dresses up to me first, so I don’t have to go through this?”
“I went to a nutritionist. She nearly threw me out of her office. I was eating mayonnaise sandwiches, fried foods, burgers. So I started to eat healthy and work out. I mean, I had never done anything.”
“No, I’ve never been cheated on but it’s one of my biggest fears – being cheated on or left. I guess that comes from watching my mom deal with it.”
FHM, September 1996
“I only have to be seen in public with a guy and the engagement notices go in the papers. The money that people have made out of these tabloid papers and TV shows is unbelievable. It’s the disgusting side of Hollywood. They’re always making up fights between the Friends co-stars. There was one in Star magazine that said I was The Queen of Mean. I was like, ‘Whaat!?’ Then they said I wouldn’t let my boyfriend do an audition for a play because it would take away from “our time together”. It was just awful. Another story said that I’d had a cat fight with Sandra Bullock. It was one big lie. So as a joke I sent her flowers to make up.”
“I’ve considered punching [the paparazzi] out, they’re awful people and I can certainly understand why Sean Penn would want to beat the shit out of them. They don’t understand that they’re ruining your life and they say that because you became famous you gave up your right to privacy. I did? Where was that written?”
“I’m rumoured to be having sex with every famous man in Hollywood; and the truth is I haven’t had sex with anyone famous.”
“The Greeks are unbelievable! Their traditions are very strong. Greek families are like the Mafia except they’re a lot friendlier. Just recently, I went back there with my boyfriend, Tate Donovan. We spent five glorious days in Santorini. We were just on the verge of being there in the ‘summer lovers’ period but we missed it, and that was what I’d gone for! I had all my bikinis and gauze wraps and stuff ready to wear… and we were looking for our third lover, but we couldn’t find one because it was too cold! Then we went to Crete, which is spectacular – that’s where I lived when I was little.”
“I hate ouzo! There is nothing more disgusting to me. When you add something to ouzo, it turns white – you explain that phenomenon to me. There’s gotta be something wrong with it. I’m telling you, Greek white wine, especially from Santorini, is so unbelievable, but ouzo… no. But I have just started liking feta cheese for the first time. I used to hate Greek food. Basically it’s awful food.”
“There’s nothing worse than a man who thinks he can do no wrong.”
“I wish we could ad-lib ‘fuck’ into our TV show. I love that word. Maybe only my character, Rachel, should be allowed to say it though.”
“I have always wished I had longer legs. And of course all women have a problem with their hips. Definitely, hips, hips, hips. And I’ve got child-bearing hips. I will not have a problem bearing a few puppies. Giving birth will not be a problem for Jennifer Aniston.”
“Yeah [the Friends boys get embarressed when us girls talk about sex], but they love it – all boys do. We’ve gotten into some pretty intense conversations about sex and it’s such a kick for us because they love hearing it, and we really go off on it sometimes just to entertain them really.”
“I hate men who are selfish with their feelings – men who can’t talk about the way they feel. But I’m not demanding at all. Making me a cup of coffee is an awesome thing to do. The first time my boyfriend brought me coffee in bed, I almost wept – I couldn’t believe it. I’d never had anyone do that for me before.”
“Be yourself. Be funny. And generous. I’m still very old-fashioned and I have a problem with some of these Nineties men. I still believe in men courting women and I still believe in dates and I still believe in a man picking up a woman at her house […] – I love tradition. I think it’s quite romantic. I like a guy with a sense of humour, a gentleness, someone that’s comfortable with who he is. Someone that’s no bullshit.”
“I don’t think guys are doing anything wrong, but I do think [they are] too conscious of [them]selves. Stop being aware of what you’re doing in bed and how it’s appearing, and just feel it. You’re always worrying, ‘Is she enjoying this?’ and ‘Is my thing big enough?’ But who cares? Sex is a messy enough business at the best of times. And I think it’s important to be able to laugh when you’re having sex – when it’s appropriate. It can be very damaging when you laugh at the wrong moment.”
“I was definitely an ugly duckling. I look at pictures of myself in high school and I think, how come I was allowed out of the house looking like I did? I had a shaved head and earrings up the side, and I wore the most unbelievable amount of make-up. I looked awful.”
“Maybe I should get my car tattooed on my ass.”
“I’m not about to go and do Playboy. The centrefold is not going to happen. But I wanna hear the offers, so I can turn them down!”
GQ Magazine, March 1997
“I don’t know what it means to be a sex symbol. When I see myself on a magazine cover I don’t see it as me, but as someone painted, fluffed, puffed and done-up. I don’t think about living up to it, it’s like something that just happened.”
“For so long I was a professional waitress acting on the side, and now I can do it. Every day I drive onto the Friends lot and there’s a moment of total excitement.”
“I really am a homebody. I just potter round my house, turn on the computer and try to return e-mails.”
“I’m confident about some things, but I’m not confident about my work. I used to dread watching myself. I remember seeing She’s The One for the first time. I was like, ‘I should not be on a screen that big. It doesn’t work, it doesn’t come across well.’ That was awful to see.”
US Magazine, April 1997
“If I can’t make everything fine, I feel very defeated.”
“I would love to sit down with all the people who are doing wrong in the world and go, ‘Hey. What’s up with you? And what is your fucked up problem? Go smell the roses for crying out loud.’”
“I know there’s lots of people who think, ‘Oh, you shouldn’t talk. You have a great life. You’re making money and you’re doing movies.’ And it’s like, ‘Yeah. But you know what? I’m human, and shit happens.’”
“I think marriage is a wonderful thing. I think if you’re two independent people, financially and otherwise, and you want to celebrate your love, then you should do it.”
“I like figuring out other people’s problems.”
Seventeen, July 1997
“You should never copy a style.”
TV Guide, July 1997
“If you’re going to rent a furnished apartment, rent it from a guy who owns an antique store.”
“Someone is watching out for me, or something. I wish I could say that I had all these options mapped out and that I made these smart choices. But I was really just lucky.”
“I was taking classes at night in psychology, waitressing during the day, auditioning when I could. I was like, ‘I’ve got to get out of here.’”
“I wanted to be self-sufficient. I wanted to have something of my own that I loved to do. So many of our parents and grandparents, the women especially, didn’t have that. I was determined not to be chained to my home. I respect those people tremendously, but I know my mom would have been a happier person if she’d blossomed to her full potential. And you never get that time back. So I’m really trying to enjoy it. Can you imagine that feeling, to be 65 years old and to have missed whatever it is you’ve dreamed of?”
Cosmopolitan, August 1997
“I’ve gone for each type: the rough guy; the nerdy, sweet, lovable guy; and the slick guy. I don’t really have a type. Men in general are a good thing.”
“I love everything about [kids]. I want to be a young mom too. I’m not ready now, but in a couple of years…”
“I would love to work with Diane Keaton. I think she’s just wonderful. And Judy Davis, Tom Hanks and Scott Hicks, the director of Shine.”
“I feel fustrated a lot, not having the time to connect with people in my life that mean a lot to me. I just do the best I can.”
“I love to take drives, have a massage, go to the hot springs, get in the sun, be with friends or just relax at home.”
USA Weekend, July 1997
“I learned a lot about human relations and emotions at a young age, dealing with adults who were all of a sudden children. It’s definitely hard. You deal with them fighting through you. That’s a drag.”
“TV is definitely guilty of putting out unrealistic images of what is socially acceptable. I’m guilty of it, too. It’s just that the images today that everybody likes are so questionable.”
“I have always been somebody that really wants to be married. And I don’t know if that’s just so I can do it differently than my parents did and prove marriage does work.”
“I worry that the media plays a bigger part in your career than your actual work does, which is scary.”
“I’m going to be completely self-dependent, because I don’t want a relationship to be based on finances.”
People Magazine, August 1998
“When wonderful things are happening to you, your instinct is to shout it to the world.”
“Let’s make her think she’s crazy! That will guarantee she’ll become an actress.’”
“You never know what waitresses think.”
“Good line, huh? I came up with that one. Nine of them were my ‘shits’. I’ve made strides in my career.”
“I was obsessed with high heels when I was little.”
“You can’t start something privately, you can’t break up privately, you can’t lose a parent privately – those are all the little thorns that come along with this beautiful rose.”
“No, I’m not crazy. I don’t think I’m crazy. I think I’d know. I’m about as dull as they come.”
“The best smell in the world is that man that you love.”
“If I’m really going for it, then I probably go for a shot of vodka or maybe a little shot of tequila.”
Elle, September 1999
“Nobody thinks of themselves as sexy, really. Some days you go, ‘Hey, I’m not going too bad today.’ But if you try and be sexy, you’ll never be sexy.”
“Quirky is sexy, like scars or chipped teeth. I also like tattoos – they’re rebellious.”
“I used to love Nick Nolte and Jeff Bridges because of their rugged manliness. I love scruffy.”
“I love people-watching in Morocco. They don’t look you up and down, but directly in the eyes.”
W Magazine, November 1999
“Isn’t it funny? Your image of yourself is so different than other peoples’. I’m not good at hearing positive things – I can accept criticism better. I’m very critical of myself – which gives me somethhing to work on. I want to evolve.”
“If someone loves you more if you’re thinner, get rid of them!”
“I remember thinking ‘couture’ was a designer. I thought, ‘Wow, this guy is everywhere – on every label!’ That’s how much I know.”
“To me, personal style is whatever is the most comfortable. Heels are my nightmare – they make me break into a sweat. I pray for lawn events, so I can wear flats.”
“I admit I love clothes. I like a pair of comfy pants, flip flops and a T-shirt. And when we pick a restaurant, my criteria is: Where can I wear this?”
“I’m used to it. I just give up. You can’t control it. As long as I’m not bending over with my crack showing, I don’t care.”
Rolling Stone, March 1999
“I got over my laziness. I got off my butt, off my couch and fell in love with being physical.”
“I’m excited to be thirty. It feels like an accomplishment, for some reason. I don’t know, like, no more excuses.”
“I couldn’t wait to finally go out and make my own [money]. The idea of never relying on someone else always thrilled me. That way, what’s going on between two people is strictly what each is bringing to the other: love, whatever. When you hear people say, ‘I can’t leave because of money,’ I mean, dear God. I don’t want any relationship to be about money. It’s too corrupt.”
“I was rowdy, spent a lot of time in the principal’s office. Actually, I have regrets about my education. I cut off my nose to spite my face, because I was trying to get attention. I didn’t take in as much as I could have.”
“In the summer of ’89, I came to visit my dad in California and started auditioning here, which was the scariest thing, meeting people who asked, ‘What have you done? Theather in New York?’ I hadn’t done much, so everything on my resume was made up. Then I got a sitcom pilot and kept extending my stay.”
“I’ve had serious boyfriends all my life. My first? I was fourteen. We dated for a year and a half. Then, my high school sweetheart lasted two years. After him, there were three years when I was alone.”
“Men shouldn’t be your whole life. That’s what I took from my childhood – that I will never depend on a man as much as my mom depended an my father. I have a full life, he has a life of his own, and if we can merge, terrific. But a relationship isn’t going to make me survive. It’s the cherry on top. It wasn’t until I moved to California that I had my first real, mature relationship.”
“My responsibility to the public is my work – not what goes on in my private life.”
“I’ll just tell you that this is the happiest time of my life – that I’m happier than I’ve ever been. I’m not saying why, it’s for a lot of reasons: work, love, family, just life – all of it.”
“One of my first boyfriends in California said, ‘You are so much more beautiful to me without makeup,’ and I couldn’t believe it. Finally, I stopped wearing it.”
Looks Magazine, 1999
“I’m into exploring and learning about everything. There is nothing I can say no to.”
“I love comedy when it comes from the truth of a situation.”
“There are wonderful straight men who are sensitive, and there are women who aren’t sensitive. That’s just how we like to peg people. We like to put those stereotypes out there.”
“I’d like to be the perfect mom, but someone for whom it’s okay to be flawed and make mistakes. We should allow for that and not shield a child too much. Let them know it’s okay to run around naked and not be ashamed of anything, I definitely believe in allowing them to see the world as it is, but not exposing them to too much too early.”
“I used to paint with shading, colours and dimension, but now it’s just freehand and whatever comes to mind. I also played every musical instrument. I can’t play any well, but I’ve played them all!”