About Sally Kirkland: Sally Kirkland is an American film and television actress. She was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress for Anna (1987).
My attitude is always one of sensuality, aggressive enthusiasm and a kind of outrageousness in my expression.
I had art as a major, along with English, French and History. I had dance, modern dance. In English I was allowed to write my own poetry, which I eventually got published.
I made a conscious decision back then that I would rather be the best actress who ever lived than the most famous one.
My activism and sexual revolution in New York was a factor.
I think that souls agree to come in and do what they're going to do and then leave when they're going to leave. So there's nothing tragic when a soul leaves. I think it was already preordained.
The only thing that I could think of to do was to be an actress.
She was a genius, my mother.
A lot of my joy this year has been to give away awards to young people, no matter of race, creed or color, because they were a terrific violinist or a terrific dancer.
When I was growing up watching Marilyn Monroe, I learned that you can be very beautiful, very glamorous and very vulnerable and not give up your soul just because you were a movie star.
My point is that, over the years, I've taught five thousand people acting and lately I have a lot of energy on these kids, having the same break I had as a high school girl.
So I have this ability, if I may say so, to spot talent.
I taught Sandra Bullock when no one knew who she was. I talked her out of quitting. I put her in a showcase.
My favorite actresses were Geraldine Paige, Anne Bancroft and Kim Stanley.
I think I'm more European in personality.
I certainly was one of the instigators in the 1960s of freedom of expression.
I had no idea that he was going to write that, but I've always believed that insecurity was what would keep you always in your innocence, no matter what the business did.
In the case of Marilyn and John Kennedy, I think they did affect change.
So, I think that Marilyn, what she gave the world, and in many ways Kennedy too, was that they had dreams and they didn't allow anybody to take away their dreams.
I'm on Governor Gray Davis' California Alliance Towards Education to bring the arts back to high schools.
With my ministry of light, part of what I do is work on the California Alliance For Arts Education.
