Lauren Bacall

“God - if the press ever quoted anyone correctly, it would be brilliant.”

“I loved reading Grimm's fairy tales and Hans Christian Andersen, and I loved to dream about other worlds and other lives. Maybe that has something to do with having an incomplete family, being an only child. All I know is I loved to pretend, and all that was in tandem with my wanting to be an actress.”

“You realize yourself when you start reflecting - because I don't live in the past, although your past is so much a part of what you are - that you can't ignore it. But I don't look at scrapbooks.”

“The biggest misconception people have about me is that I'm in control of every situation. I'm rarely in control of any situation.”

“I would hate now to be married. It does occur to me on occasion that, if I fall and hit my head, there will be no one to make the phone call. But who wants to think about that disaster, I'd prefer not to.”

“My mother was the greatest example to me of anyone I've ever known. She didn't have an easy life. I adored her. She worked hard all her life, and she was the one who set my values. She was quite an amazing woman, although she wasn't tough at all.”

“I think your whole life shows in your face and you should be proud of that.”

“Acting is a life of rejection.”

“I don't sit around thinking that I'd like to have another husband; only another man would make me think that way.”

“In Hollywood, an equitable divorce settlement means each party getting fifty percent of publicity.”

“Actors today go into TV, which I don't consider has a lot to do with acting.”

“Imagination is the highest kite one can fly.”

“A woman isn't complete without a man. But where do you find a man - a real man - these days?”

“I'm a big fan of Daniel Day-Lewis. He's a marvelous actor. He stands alone, I think.”

“Legends are all to do with the past and nothing to do with the present.”

“I hope I'm thought of as not just a showbiz personality, but as someone who has lived a life and who has hopefully made a contribution to something along the way - someone who is a human being as well as an actress.”

“I figure if I have my health, can pay the rent and I have my friends, I call it 'content.'”

“Stardom isn't a profession, it's an accident.”

“I adored 'Breaking The Waves,' so when Lars von Trier wanted me in 'Dogville,' I was beside myself with joy. He works in a way that nobody I've ever worked with works.”

“When I was a kid, it was Bette Davis. She was my idol. I used to cut school and sit in the back of the theater; of course, I would have snuck in because I couldn't afford a ticket.”