America Ferrera Quotes

(about her and her "Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants" co-stars) I don`t know who in this group has time to get into trouble, because I sure don`t. I have dogs to walk and songs to load into my I-Pod. That`s my exciting life. I`ve met women who look up to all of us from these Sisterhood movies, and that means something to me. Now, if any of us dared to be ridiculous, we`d be getting a lot of phone calls from each other. It would be like, "What are you doing? You`re grounded!"

(on her feelings when her father abandoned her family while she was a child) It wasn`t easy, but as a kid you find ways to make sense of it. It wasn`t until I was older that I thought, `Damn, I never really grieved over that`. And there have been male figures in my life who provided that kind of fatherhood role for longer than he was ever in my life.

It`s so reassuring to have a woman heroine who triumphs with more than just what she has on the outside... who has more to offer the world than just a pretty picture. To me, the tragedy about this whole image-obsessed society is that young girls get so caught up in just achieving that they forget to realize that they have so much more to offer the world.

I think it`s hilarious when people call Jessica Alba or Eva Longoria curvy. Come on. They`re not curvy. They`re small. I`m curvy.

I read Cliffs Notes when I was in school. I recently went back and read A Farewell to Arms and Steppenwolf, just to get the education that I paid for.

Honestly, even if I wanted to be anorexic, I just don`t have what it takes. After four hours of being anorexic, I`d be like, "It`s been four whole hours! Feed me!"

It`s always nice at the end of the day to take the wig off and take my makeup off and just be myself. But I am more comfortable being Betty than being on a red carpet all glammed up.

I feel extremely comfortable being dressed as Ugly Betty.

Most of us look nothing like models. We count on our kindness and strength to get us through life.The most important thing you wear is your personality.

(on becoming ugly for work every day) It’s definitely a costume. I wear a wig, I wear braces and glasses and exaggerated clothing, and I also bush up my eyebrows. But unfortunately, it only takes me an hour to get into costume, so I’m only an hour away from Ugly Betty myself!

(About her boyfriend) He makes me very happy. There’s nothing more valuable than having someone in your life who reminds you who you are, and he does that. I love that we don’t need to be together, but that we want to. That was a really hard lesson for me to learn in high school. Finding and having a boyfriend in high school was the thing that made a girl feel worthy. In a good relationship, you can live without them, but when they are there, it’s because you want them to be. I think that’s a great lesson for girls. You have to love yourself before anyone else can really love you. I think that’s the only real truth that I know.

I think it’s the work that’s paving the way. I don’t consider myself an American or Latina actress. I’m just an actress and I feel like when other people can start seeing me as just an actress, rather than a Latina actress, that would be a big step forward. It’s a fine balance. Part of it is about being proud of being Latina and claiming who you are, but at the same time, by doing that you can isolate yourself.

(Pressure about her weight) When I went into the business I never knew how “fat” or “ugly” I was. I never felt that there was something wrong with me. But in the world of Mode magazine, 99 percent of us are Ugly Bettys. It’s interesting that the show is called Ugly Betty, not Fat Betty- but everyone assumes that the ugliness comes from me as a person not being skinny. But a skinny actress could have taken this role and put on the braces and she’d still be Ugly Betty.

It’s unrealistic to say to girls, :Be happy with who you are,” when they’re in high school and feeling so much pressure. I understand the appeal of celebrities like Nicole and Paris. Their lives seem so glamorous. But I think that is girls got to spend a day in one of those people’s lives, they wouldn’t be impressed. Any girl reading this should know that anything she wants, she can have. But why not focus those dreams on things that are worth it? If they could have a perfectly tiny body and all the money, attention, and celebrity in the world, is that what they would really want to go for? I’m not judging Paris or those girls- if they’re happy, that’s great. Girls should be able to go to sleep every night and say to themselves, “I’m happy and proud if the way I’m living my life.”

(Ugly Betty moments in high school) My high school days were definitely not the best days of my life. I think everything you learn in high school, you have to spend the rest of your life unlearning. A lot of what high school was about for me was not being myself. It was about hiding all the things that made me different and trying to fit in somewhere. I didn’t know who I was. The pretty and popular girls just reminded me that I wasn’t pretty enough, and the nerdy and studious ones reminded me that I wasn’t smart enough.. I didn’t conform in high school, wear all the right clothes, or fit in. but I think the truth is that whatever you’re wearing on the outside doesn’t change the fact that most people- even beautiful girls- feel the same doubts, fears, and insecurities on the inside.

I think she understands she’s different. But what makes her strong is that she’s not stupid. People tend to equate kindness with naiveté and cynicism with experience and age. But the stronger person is the one who knows better and chooses not to stoop to certain levels- that’s Betty.

(The Part of Betty she relates to most) Her wanting to succeed in a business that she’s not necessarily tailored for. Her dream is to write for magazines- not necessarily a fashion magazine, but that’s where she gets a job. She has to strive even harder to show her talents because she works in a place where everybody is overly concerned with what people look like. The entertainment industry is very similar. Because I don’t look like a typical glamorous Hollywood star, it was hard for me to get in the right doors. People here think they can look at you and judge what you are capable of doing. Betty and I are similar in that respect.

(Goals for 2007) I want to travel. But it’s hard because I get such a short amount of time off, and I feel like I should do a movie. I wish I could go sit in the sun, but it’s not my nature. At some point, when I collapse, I’ll have to calm down.

(Favorite hero from Heroes) I love Masi (Oka, who plays Hiro). I met him before our shows came out, but now I just want to say hi and like, hug him and tell him that I love his show. And then I’m like, “Wait, he’s just a normal person, who doesn’t have superpowers!”

(Anyone who still makes her starstruck) If I saw someone from Heroes, I would freak out. I’d be like, “Oh, my God, you’re a superhero. You’re not supposed to be here!” I’m the biggest dork when it comes to that.

(The moment when she knew she was a success) I was in Texas at a movie theater and on the elevator, these people were like, “You look so much like that girl who plays Ugly Betty.” So they started talking about how much they loved the show. And I thought, “I’m in Texas in an elevator and these people know about my show.” That’s when it hit: the whole country is watching.

(The biggest perk of fame) You know what was really cool? We got to travel on ABC’s private jet to Chicago when we did Oprah. You have your own stewardess to get your stuff! They had a whole basket of candy- Snickers and Starbursts. I was high on sugar by the time I was on Oprah.

(Advice from Rosie O’Donnell) As I was leaving, she told me “Don’t ever date anyone who’s been in People magazine. Find a normal, sweet guy from home.” I was like, "OK!"

I did The View and met Rosie O’Donnell. I grew obsessed with her talk show and thought she was so wonderful, and in person, she was just so sweet. She’s such a big fan of the show.

(Strange fan encounters) Sometimes letters come addressed to Betty. They’re like, “Dear Betty, I hope things at Mode are OK.” It’s a little creepy. These are from people who are like, 32! I’m serious.

(Favorite Betty moment to date) The Christmas episode when we brought back Henry (Christopher Gorham). I’m the girliest of all girls. I squeal in romantic comedies. I cry at the drop of a hat. So I get excited for Betty when she gets to do romantic things. It’s so wonderful to have a normal person be a romantic heroine. The truth is, we are not all people who look like we belong on television. But every single person you look at, they are the heroine of their own lives. There are people who love them and desire them and need them.

(The most difficult part of the Betty transformation) Betty wears a lot of clothes-tights, parkas, all these shirts buttoned up to her neck. That drives me insane. I don’t like to feel restricted.

It takes me an hour to become Betty. But I love that she`s so different from me. I can (keep) a bit of myself private.

Breasts can be a burden or a blessing. I can`t wear a tank without a bra, but I look voluptuous in any kind of dress.

I think Hispanic women are beautiful with their curves. I`m not sure who feels that way in Hollywood. I was never told to lose 50 pounds. If they think that they just don`t bother with you,you just don`t get the role and you never know why. That`s still better than physically harming yourself and becoming unhealthy just to star in a movie.

Weight. It`s a very emotional issue.