Hailee Steinfeld

“I was home-schooled.”

“My character in 'True Grit' would set these goals for herself that seemed near impossible, but to her they were possible. She was never going to believe anything else other than that.”

“Actors play different characters in every project they do. Though it has nothing to do with my craft, the red carpet gives me the opportunity to show who I really am and be myself.”

“Whether I'm a bit of an old soul or not, I am who I am, and that doesn't change, whether I'm with adults or with my friends.”

“Every girl wishes she was Juliet in some version of their life.”

“I feel like if you see five films not knowing who made them, you know which one is the Coen Brothers.”

“I don't know if it has set in or not. Honestly, it's crazy. It's such an amazing honor. I remember thinking back to being in my room waiting for the call to see if I got the part. It's like winning the lottery. I'm proud to be a member of such an amazing cast - that's the best award of all.”

“Singing is something I've always loved to do, and I'd never considered taking it further than the shower.”

“Child actors come off as work being their life and doing it 24/7, but I still have those days where it's totally, like, whatever: shopping, movies, adventures.”

“I feel like every day I discover new actors and new filmmakers and different genres, and it's just so cool.”

“Well I was eight years old, and I have an older cousin who is three years older than me and she was doing acting, commercials, and modeling at the time and... to see my cousin doing that was really inspiring and I wanted to do it. So I went to my mom and I asked her if I could do it, and for the acting part of it, she made me study for a year.”

“My first modeling job was Gap, and my first time in front of the camera was for a Soda Pop Girls commercial - it's one of those Bratz dolls, Barbie dolls... one of those.”

“Music is a very big part of my preparation as an actor.”

“Everything I do now is a first.”

“There's a different energy with a female director, a female at the head of the production. I don't prefer one over the other, but they're definitely different experiences, and I would love to have more of them.”

“The shooting of the guns, that was kind of funny, because rolling a cigarette and shooting a gun aren't like normal things for a 13-year old girl!”

“When I was 13, I looked like I could play 16, and I wasn't mature enough to play 16.”

“I love the film route and I'm gong to try my hardest to stay on it.”

“When I was auditioning for 'True Grit,' I was on the Paramount lot. I was wearing clothes from the 1800s that were big and uncomfortable.”

“Fashion is something I've always been interested in... I used to watch the Oscars but paid no attention to the awards... It wasn't until I started attending red carpet events and was flown out to Paris for my first show, and saw how much is put into it all, that I had this new appreciation for everything.”