Meryl Streep

"Patience is something you develop over time."

"I'm grateful for every opportunity I've had."

"The work teaches you who you are."

"I believe in fighting for what you believe in."

"Life is a series of negotiations."

"I think laughter is the best medicine."

"You have to find joy in the small moments."

"I've learned to embrace uncertainty."

"The best parts of life are unexpected."

"I think compassion is the most important quality."

"You can't rush meaningful relationships."

"I believe in the power of human connection."

"The work is a constant teacher if you let it be."

"I think resilience is learned, not innate."

"You have to allow yourself to be vulnerable."

"I'm most proud of the work that challenged me."

"Life gives you what you need, not always what you want."

"The great thing about getting older is that you don't lose all the other ages you've been."

"Wanting to be someone else is a waste of the person you are."

"I think one of the things I've learned is that taking yourself too seriously is a mistake."

"You have to embrace the chaos of life to find its beauty."

"The craft of acting is about empathy and understanding human nature."

"Don't underestimate the value of doing nothing, of just going along, listening to all the things you can't hear, and not bothering."

"Everything you want in life is on the other side of fear."

"I remember talking to someone who worked in the Holocaust Museum, and they said that the most important thing for people to understand is that it didn't start with the gas chambers."

"The surest thing about me is that I will change my mind."

"I try to slip into the chaos and find order in it."

"Acting is not about being someone else; it's about finding yourself in someone else."

"You can take yourself too seriously, and then you're not any good anymore."

"There are so many choices we make each day, and it's important to make them consciously."