Mariska Hargitay
No one can take away your pain, so don't let anyone take away your happiness.Collection: Pain
Being fearless means busting down those walls of fear and being who you are, not who someone else thinks you are. People like to put others in a box and tell them what they can and cannot do or who they can and cannot be. No one can tell you who you are and what you are made of, only you yourself know what you are made of, and only you yourself can do the work to become who you want to be.Collection: Wall
I don't have to be an expert. I just have to care.Collection: Experts
No one can tell you who you are and what you are made of, only you yourself know what you are made of, and only you yourself can do the work to become who you want to be.Collection: Want
People who overcome their fears every day, without fanfare, without recognition. Quiet, everyday courage, that’s what I admire most.Collection: People
To me, the definition of sexy - at any age - is strength and confidence.Collection: Sexy
If I can play a little part in the world's healing, and making it a better place than when I came, then I just thank God for that chance.Collection: Healing
Your body is not who you are. I don't think women should label themselves based on the way they look. What about defining yourself by a different kind of measurement? What about your heart, your soul, your compassion, your generosity, your strength and your power? There are so many other things to focus on besides your waistline.Collection: Heart
Healing takes time, and asking for help is a courageous step.Collection: Healing
Sexual assault and domestic violence are difficult things to talk about. Talk about them anyway.Collection: Domestic Violence
In life you have two choices. You can laugh or you can cry. You have to laugh, you have to.Collection: Two
You survived the abuse, you’re going to survive the recovery.Collection: Recovery
We're all connected. Helping another woman is helping yourself, your mother, your sister, your children.Collection: Mother
Being sexy is just one part of being a woman and an actress. But if the part calls for sexy...Collection: Sexy
The message I got from my father was that life is hard, but you just don't quit. I am grateful that I didn't let fear get the best of me. It only holds you back from possibilities and greatness. You've got to kick fear to the side, because the payoff is huge.Collection: Father
I think God runs the show. Completely. Life proves it every day: He runs the show.Collection: Running
Humor is about perspective, and hanging out with people who see life through a similar lens is so important.Collection: People
But trust can take you a long way. And my faith takes me a long way. And I think that our pains, our vulnerabilities, and our insecurities can fuel us to be better. To try harder. To dig deeper.Collection: Pain
By coming forward and sharing your story, you don't know the countless lives you change.Collection: Stories
Adoption was a bumpy ride - very bumpy. But, God, was it worth the fight.Collection: Fighting
Surviving and thriving in the wake of my mothers loss, I learned to believe in God. He has a plan, if you pay attention to the signs. I am inspired by the absolute proof of miracles.Collection: Mother
Eric Lewis doesn't play the piano, he devours it. He doesn't play music, he channels the divine.Collection: Play
You should've seen my big hair in the 80's, that was a real project.Collection: Real
Our early dating life consisted of trying to figure out whether we were dating.Collection: Dating
They say that the average lifespan of an SVU detective is 4 years. People can't do it longer than that because it's so difficult.Collection: Average
These days we don’t have to fit into something other people think we are. We’ve leveled the playing field, life is inclusive. I’m a mom, sex detective, wife, fearless, gentle — we can now, with grace, be all of what we are.Collection: Mom
When I was in my early 20s, I had my hair permed. Bad Idea! It turned into total frizz. My advice to women is: if you have nice hair already, don't get a perm, leave your hair alone.Collection: Nice
There's so much that you can get mad about. Out of self-preservation, I focus on being grateful.Collection: Grateful
Over half a million women are raped in this country every year, and only a fraction of them report it because they're too ashamed. It’s a really screwed up world, but its not your fault, and what happened to you, it doesn't make you the monster.Collection: Country
A guy at ABC told me to change my name and get a nose job. I said 'You get a nose job.'Collection: Jobs
I've always heard that you'll know, but I never understood it. With Peter, we even broke up after we dated for a year, for two or three months, but I still knew. I knew there was something different about this union. Even through the hard times, it was like "How are we going to get through this?Collection: Hard Times
Losing my mother at such an early age is the scar of my soul. But I feel like it ultimately made me into the person I am today; I understand the journey of life. I had to go through what I did to be here.Collection: Mother
~Before you have kids, when you're on a plane and there's a screaming kid, all you can think is, Give me earplugs! As soon as I became a mom, though, I got it. You find yourself asking, 'What can I do? You want me to hold him?' Because you think about the time your kids was screaming, and there was the one parent who looked at you and smiled. And that compassion was everything.~Collection: Mom
I'm a size 8, and I feel proud of that, because it's healthy. I've never felt compelled to be a skinny actress.Collection: Healthy
I'm living every ten-year-old boy's fantasy. The other day, Chris and I had this big scene where we had to pull out our guns, and I was thinking, 'Here we are in New York City - a place where every actor wants to be - and we are literally playing cops and robbers. How great is that?'Collection: New York
Sixty-five percent of Americans don't have the conversation with their children. So you're sending off boys and girls off to college, off to high school, off to wherever they go, and nobody's had the conversation about how to conduct themselves. About a man telling his son how to be a man. How to respect a woman. How do you respect yourself?Collection: Girl
My Dad taught me that good health is all about living in gratitude.Collection: Gratitude
I'm just grateful that my body is healthy. I want to be on this planet for a long time, so I try to eat things that make me feel good and make me strong. But I also love food and I love life: Some days having that extra bowl of pasta and a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup means more to me than being thin.Collection: Strong
I'm a big believer that your word is your wand. You know how people say things like, 'Oh my gosh, I'm such an idiot.' I don't say things like that anymore. Those put-downs, even if they're in jest, are little bullets of negativity that you don't need in your life.Collection: People
Chocolate is the first luxury. It has so many things wrapped up in it: Deliciusness in the moment, childhood memories, and that grin-inducing feeling of getting a reward for being good.Collection: Memories
The only reason I have the career I have is that I didn't quit.Collection: Careers
I'm a water person; water heals.Collection: Water
Fifty years ago my Mother stood on this stage accepting this award; She was fortunate enough to have my Dad with her. Fifty years later, I'm fortunate enough to have my Dad with me. I love you, Dad.Collection: Mother
The definition of inspire is 'to fill with the urge or ability to do or feel something, especially to do something creative.' There you have it: Jeffrey Bilhuber inspires me. I watch him make his magic, and I want to do the same. Those are always my favorite people, the ones who are so alive in the practice of their art that I want to jump in and join the fun.Collection: Art
Being thin is not more important than enjoying lifeCollection: Enjoy Life
I've got no problems with my age. I rejoice in the knowledge I have accrued and savor the greatest moments, because I know how fast it goes.Collection: Age
Criminals are just regular people who didn’t have time to read all the laws.Collection: Law
Kids who drink alcohol, fairly regularly before they're 14 have a 48% chance... of becoming alcoholics.Collection: Kids
It wasn't really that hard to act when you see somebody holding a gun to your partner. It's also believing the circumstances and I believed it.Collection: Believe