Actress

I couldn't get an acting job to save my life when I moved to L.A.

It was a sad process for me to become a mom, and a long process. I felt so embarrassed that I couldn't have a biological child.

Like most women, I thought it would be easy once I decided to start a family. I was surprised that Mother Nature kept poking me in the eye, saying, 'Nope, nope, nope.'

My family knows everything about me. There are no secrets, which can be suffocating, but I also find comfort in it. You can always reach out an arm, and an aunty will be close by to tell you that your skirt is too short.

I believe that you will not get what you want unless you ask for it.

On my daughter's first day of kindergarten, another mom said something that made me realize I had become my own Greek, suffocating mother. She said, 'Just think, in 13 years they'll leave us and go to college!' And I went, 'Gulp.'

I never card out a movie. You know how people will outline or card? I don't do that. I tend to start with an idea and go.

I think the goal is parity: I try to be pro-woman without being anti-man, and I hope and wish that men could do the same in that when they look at the screenplay, they say, 'Wait, wait, wait - is my daughter represented here, is my wife represented here? Is my sister represented?'

I thought I was attractive when I shot 'My Big Fat Greek Wedding.' Studio executives and movie reviewers let me know I had a confidence in my looks that was not shared by them.

My husband is an only child of only child parents.

When I used to do musical theatre, my dad refused to come backstage. He never wanted to see the props up close or the sets up close. He didn't want to see the magic.

I was in a fertility situation publicly, so I disappeared. I was very satisfied just being to able to creatively express myself with writing. The white hot publicity that came from 'My Big Fat Greek Wedding' was appreciated but not sought, so I was happy to walk away from it and then write.

I have always written from a personal place.

I was a very studious student and usually got A's. I did not like school, because I wasn't popular - I was a nerd.

It's called show business for a reason. The theater owners want to make money, and understandably so.

I have had the same person show up in a few cities with flowers. A lovely gentleman who gave me a picture of himself. I came home, gave it to Ian, and said, 'If I go missing, here's the guy.'

I believe that if I come home from a stressful day on the set, I just have to leave it there.

I'd been raised by my parents who taught me not to think you're better than you are.

I'm not one of those people that can suddenly start running and hire a Pilates trainer; it's just not my thing.

I started in Shakespeare. I'm classically trained, which, how hilarious is that? Then one night, I saw Second City and thought, 'Wow, that's what I want to do.' But I never thought it would morph into screenplay writing.