Maria Shriver

“I appreciate your support, particularly this year, for sticking with me.”

“I like cookies, any cookie you put in front of me - animal cookies, sugar cookies, anything crunchy.”

“I made the mistake of thinking that external accomplishments would bring me peace. I thought it was about the job or a book or making a name for myself.”

“You don't wanna walk around and say, 'I'm somebody's niece, I'm somebody's cousin, I'm somebody's daughter. Who are you?' And I think that's always the challenge when you grow up in a well-known family, is ultimately, you have to face yourself in the mirror and say, 'Who are you? What have you done?'”

“We all know what happens to first ladies who shoot their mouths off.”

“My father never was and isn't a mean man. You know, he never was ruthless. And he succeeded in life without sticking it to anybody. And that's a great example for a man, a strong man, a man's man, to give to his children. You can succeed, you can be successful, without walking over somebody.”

“At work, you're replaceable... but as a parent, you're irreplaceable.”

“I was happy being a journalist. I didn't realize losing my job, my identity went with it.”

“If you want to be an architect of change by raising great kids, God bless. If you want to do it by raising money for your kid's school, great. If you want to build a garden - whatever it is. Women like myself - they're complicated, and they have a lot of different interests and qualities within them.”

“Women somehow get portrayed as one type. You're either a feminist or you're not. You're a working woman or you're not. I'm raising two girls, and I say to them, 'I need you to be strong and soft. You can be smart and beautiful... You can be all of these things.'”

“You can spend the rest of your life trying to figure out what other people expect from you, or you can make a decision to let that all go.”

“Don't think of him as a Republican. Think of him as the man I love, and if that doesn't work, think of him as the man who can crush you.”

“No matter who you are, what you've accomplished, what your financial situation is - when you're dealing with a parent with Alzheimer's, you yourself feel helpless. The parent can't work, can't live alone, and is totally dependent, like a toddler. As the disease unfolds, you don't know what to expect.”

“It's always inspiring to me to meet people who feel that they can make a difference in the world. That's their motive, that's their passion... I think that's what makes your life meaningful, that's what fills your own heart and that's what gives you purpose.”

“I decided that I was going to be the Kennedy who makes her own name and finds her own job and works like a dog. My comeuppance was when Arnold got elected - I became the Kennedy who was married to the governor.”

“I feel very blessed to have four brothers. My brothers always say, 'Oh, you know, we prepared you for the world of journalism. We prepared you for Arnold. We prepared you for everything.' And in a way they're right. Because you know, they take no prisoners. They were very tough.”

“Starting at the bottom is not about humiliation. It's about humility—a realistic assessment of where you are in the learning curve.”

“When the world is so complicated, the simple gift of friendship is within all of our hands.”

“My mother's death brought me to my knees. She was my hero, my role model, my very best friend. I spoke to her every single day of my life. I really tried hard when I grew up to make her proud of me.”

“I don't believe in gutter politics. I don't believe in gutter journalism.”