Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

My mother would get up in the morning as my mother, and then she would go into this big closet she had. She'd go in on this end as my mom and she'd come out the other end as Debbie Reynolds. It was like a car wash for celebrities.  

When she was in grammar school, the teacher one day kept calling Carrie 'Debbie.' It's okay because I'm Princess Leia's mother, so everywhere I go, [I say] 'I'm Princess Leia's mother' now.  

When Laura was little and she said 'I wanna be an actress,' I said 'No! Don't be an actress! Be a lawyer or a missionary!'  

It's comfortable to be on a set with her - I'm used to that, but she blew my mind when I saw the movie.  

She's a good mother, she's a loving mother, and a present mother… You need to be very present as a parent and as a teacher and educator. It takes presence of mind.  

I have zero problems when people say, 'God, you look like your mother.' I go, 'Well, great! Thanks!'  

She has a wonderful husband, as I did, and we used to take turns to make sure that neither of us were both gone at the same time. She's an extraordinary mom, and I'm proud of her for the great mothering she's doing.  

[As a child], my playground was the theater. I'd sit and watch my mother, Blythe Danner, pretend for a living.  

When I finally got to work with mum, I realized that she was more present in her work than she often is in real life. And I thought, 'Ah, that's where she lives!'  

It wasn't until I became a grandmother - after Joely and then you had children - that I realized just how important women are to children. Not just as mothers but as grandmothers, too, and I am trying to make amends for my mistakes by spending as much time with my grandchildren as I can.