When I started to sing, my mother would have me engaged to perform at the Women's Christian Temperance Union national or annual meetings. I would hate doing this because I wanted to play baseball or go off skiing.

After Bruno Walter, my career went in leaps and bounds. I have had 35 years of a career that is just incredible, and a wonderful time all over the world.

I thought I should go to New York because it was the place to go to study. I went and tried to get an application from the Juilliard School but they wouldn't even give me one because I didn't have my high school graduation.

It makes one a better person to have had hardships and to have overcome hardships and not to blame anybody else for your mistakes.

Cherish your human connections - your relationships with friends and family.

With repertory, you had to play all these different characters. The range of roles is really what I fell in love with, every night getting to become somebody different. That was my idea of acting, getting to be part of the company and a family.

I have a sense of Europe also being like home. I mean, Australia is my home, and my heart is there, but I suppose I've always felt close to Europe, given we had family there, and we would visit.

I come from a large family so you can count on the fact that I'm going to have more kids.