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41 " This ring means that I choose to spend the rest of my life with you. I promise to love you in the nurturing and selfless way that you love me. I've changed so much since I've known you. Your love has given me the strength to be softer. You've taught me kindness and compassion. You make me better. "
― Portia de Rossi , Unbearable Lightness: A Story of Loss and Gain
42 " I highly recommend inviting the worst-case scenario into your life. I met Ellen when I was 168 pounds and she loved me. She didn’t see that I was heavy; she only saw the person inside. My two greatest fears, being fat and being gay, when realized, led to my greatest joy. It’s ironic, really, when all I’ve ever wanted is to be loved for my true self, and yet I tried so hard to present myself as anything other than who I am. And I didn’t just one day wake up and be true to myself. Ellen saw a glimpse of my inner being from underneath the flesh and bone, reached in, and pulled me out. "
43 " I contemplate the idea of being better and it brings to mind my favorite quote from Wayne Dyer, our friend and the man who is about to marry me to the woman of my dreams. “True nobility isn’t about being better than anyone else; it’s about being better than you used to be.” “Yes, Ma. I am better.” I am better than I used to be. "
44 " And dieting, I discovered, was another form of disordered eating, just as anorexia and bulimia similarly disrupt the natural order of eating. “Ordered” eating is the practice of eating when you are hungry and ceasing to eat when your brain sends the signal that your stomach is full. “Ordered” eating is about eating for enjoyment, for health, and to sustain life. “Ordered” eating is not restricting certain kinds of foods because they are “bad.” Obsessing about what and when to eat is not normal, natural, and orderly. Thinking about food to the point of obsession and ignoring your body’s signals is a disorder. "
45 " There’s a reason they call it a private life,” I’d often say to interviewers. But there’s a fine line between being private and being ashamed. The "
46 " Effortlessness is an attractive thing. And it takes a lot of effort to achieve it. "
47 " In a way, I loved him. But I loved the roles that we both played a lot more. I had assigned him the role of my protector. "
48 " After all, it's in the way an insult is received that makes it an insult. You can't really give offense unless someone takes it. "
49 " True nobility isn’t about being better than anyone else; it’s about being better than you used to be. "
50 " Even when I took first prize, topped the class, won the race, I never really won anything. I was merely avoiding the embarrassment of losing. When ability is matched by expectations, then anything less than an exceptional result was laziness. And laziness in my opinion was shameful. But "
51 " You poor thing. I wish I could’ve been there to save you.”“You did save me. You save me every single day. "
52 " The images of stick-thin prepubescent girls never should have had power over me. I should’ve had my sights set on successful businesswomen and successful female artists, authors, and politicians to emulate. Instead I stupidly and pointlessly just wanted to be considered pretty. I squandered my brain and my talent to squeeze into a size 2 dress while my male counterparts went to work on making money, making policy, making a difference. I "
53 " I felt intimidated. I felt less than, not equal, and on a completely different, un-relatable level. "
54 " ...a sense of peace overcomes me. I'm sick. I've successfully lowered the bar. I don't have to be a straight-A student or be a movie star to be pround of myself. I just have to live. "
55 " models ate pizza before a fashion show, then threw it up quietly before showtime. That would take a lot of practice, since you’d have to be neat and clean about it. "