Thurman: "It gives you a great self-confidence to take full responsibility for your life. Responsibility gives confidence, I find."

Thurman: "It is technically a failure when you don’t try."

Thurman: "Boredom is a great motivator."

Thurman: "You know what daring really is to me? It’s maybe much simpler: the willingness to get up and try it again. It’s not about whether or not you fall down, it’s how you get back up. And I’ve taken quite a few tumbles, myself."

Thurman: "I was an escapee of childhood. I always wanted to grow up."

Thurman: "I think ass-kicking is sort of thrilling. As a female you're taught not to be aggressive."

Thurman: "I'm a mother and and any parent knows this dynamic: You're on the playground and some kid comes over and kicks sand in your kid's face and you're like: 'What do I do now - I want to kill?!'"

Thurman: "But I think it is always difficult to have high expectations of yourself or anyone else."

Thurman: "It’s taken me a long time to learn to accept the risks and just be willing to try it over and over again."

Thurman: "I had to go to a mirror and look at it. I couldn’t picture myself in my own head. I had no image beyond a stick figure. I wasn’t a mean person as a kid, or dumb, and something has to be said to justify excluding you."

Thurman: "I used to be more paranoid and stressed, constantly worrying about my Plan B. But the truth is I don’t have one."

Thurman: "It is better to have a relationship with someone who cheats on you than with someone who does not flush the toilet."

Thurman: "Modeling is basically ‘Buy more stuff! Don’t you want some more stuff? It will make you look ten years younger and men will like you!’ If I’d wanted to be a salesperson, I would have got a job selling"

Thurman: "I still love the people I’ve loved, even if I cross the street to avoid them."

Thurman: "I was not particularly bright, I wasn’t very athletic, I was a little too tall, odd, funny looking, I was just really weird as a kid."

Thurman: "And also I think particularly as a female, you’re taught to be defensive your whole life. You’re taught not to be aggressive."

Thurman: "I do think that what’s wonderful in life is that we gain perspective as we take on different roles that are mind and heart opening."

Thurman: "Daring to me is having courage; it’s a daily meditation to take breath and find strength."

Thurman: "I spent the first fourteen years of my life convinced that my looks were hideous. Adolescence is painful for everyone, I know, but mine was plain weird."

Thurman: "I certainly know I have been blessed with much more empathy than I ever knew I would feel for other people."