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

Every time I sign a contract, I donate something to charity and buy a piece of jewelry. Whether the movie gets made or not, it's a celebration.

My favorite part of any playdate comes later when I get to carry my exhausted and sleeping daughter to the car. Is there anything more trusting than a sleeping child completely and utterly leaning into your body?

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.'

I'm a private person who doesn't relish making her personal life public.

I was worried if you adopted a foster child, someone from the birth family could still come and take her back. I was afraid that any child in foster care might have suffered such trauma or neglect that she would be impossible to reach. I'm not proud of these fears. But I understand now when others ask me the same questions.

I'm not proud of this, but I had a lot of misconceptions about American foster care. To me, foster care meant that a child would be placed with you, then taken away. I didn't want to go through all of that.

Lately, I've been in meetings regarding a new script idea I have. A studio executive asked me to change the female lead to a male, because... 'Women don't go to movies.' Really?

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

Women have to write for each other; we have to hire each other.

We must make choices that are outside of the familial expectations of us, or we'll just be repeating the mistakes. Our parents came here to give us better choices.

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

You're as strong as the actors you're working with, your partners.

We absolutely have to support our gay and lesbian brothers and sisters. We just must. It's not fair that they don't get to live an authentic life.

I think it's probably a universal experience that all parents think they're not hovering, but perhaps we all are.

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 there is a moment in every parent's life where we realize that we have lost ourselves a little bit. It's a moment of looking in the mirror and going, 'I need to put on some lipstick.'

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 feel that the industry can be sliced into two categories - grateful actors and non-grateful actors.

I did go through a bit of a dark time during the years I was trying to be a mom. But I'm basically a very positive person.

There are benefits to adopting a toddler. They can tell you what's wrong. And - everything we did with our daughter was a first. Her first tooth fairy. Santa.

I don't temper how I feel. I'm Greek. I've got emotions.