Portia de Rossi

Portia de Rossi: (on her marriage to Ellen DeGeneres) Marriage is a different way of being together. There's a peace to (being married) and a sense of togetherness that we just didn't have before. And I didn't even realize it would change as much as it has, but it's so lovely. It's legal, and it's real, so there's that kind of formality to it that makes it very valid.

Portia de Rossi: (on the possibility of her and Ellen DeGeneres having children) I don't know if it's our immediate future. It's something we talk about every few months.

Portia de Rossi: (on filming a lesbian sex scene with Joely Richardson in " Nip/Tuck") I hate gratuitous sex scenes. I'm a prude. I related to Joely's character so much more than my own. She was having a really hard time with her sexuality, and it was difficult for her to tell people she was gay. To hear her struggle like that was very emotional for me.

Portia de Rossi: I love body parts, especially hands.

Portia de Rossi: It's important to me to find music that feels like my own private experience, music that you think not everybody gets.

Portia de Rossi (on changing her name): When I was 15, I changed it legally. In retrospect, I think it was largely due to my struggle about being gay. Everything just didn't fit, and I was trying to find things I could identify myself with, and it started with my name.

Portia de Rossi: I wouldn't even drive down Santa Monica Boulevard - I'm not kidding - in fear that someone would look in the car window and think I was gay.

Portia de Rossi: I'm very excited about the new season of Arrested Development. I think it's a brilliant show—all the characters are so deplorable, and yet somehow likable. Even scarier, they're relatable.

Portia de Rossi (on her relationship with Ellen DeGeneres): It's a very respectful, very loving, peaceful relationship. We have a lot in common; we share the same outlook on life. I really feel not alone for the first time in my life.

Portia de Rossi: I ran into Ellen at a photo shoot about a year ago and she took my breath away. That had never happened to me in my life, where I saw somebody and experienced all of those things you hear about in songs and read about in poetry.

Portia de Rossi: I had met Ellen about five years ago, and there was definitely a lot of chemistry between us, but I didn't allow myself to think of being with her just because of the place I was at. I was still on Ally McBeal and still closeted, and this seemed inconceivable. But I really never stopped thinking about her, because I just haven't felt that kind of energy with anyone in my life.

Portia de Rossi (on her role in Ally McBeal): That character on Ally McBeal was the most difficult one I've ever played. I don't naturally sit or stand or walk or hold my head the way she did. That sounds so actorly, but it's true—I had to consciously make sure my head was straight, because my natural being is to slouch. It was four whole years of making sure I didn't shift my weight onto my left leg and put my hand on my hip.

Portia de Rossi: I'm very happy. I'm happier than I ever, ever thought I could be.

Portia de Rossi: I didn't choose the fact that I was gay, but I did choose whether to live my life as a gay woman—that was the terrifying thing for me. Especially being a gay actress. I love playing all different kinds of women, and the majority of women aren't gay, so the majority of characters aren't going to be gay.

Portia de Rossi: David E. Kelley came to my dressing room and wanted to write an arc for my character where she explores having a relationship with a woman. But I said no. I felt that was exploiting me. Here I was really worried that it would be the end of my job on the show, and he was so titillated by it he wanted to write a whole character arc about it.

Portia de Rossi: The most important thing for me was to never, ever, ever deny it. But I didn't really have the courage to talk about it. I was thinking, Well, the people who need to know I'm gay know, and I'm somehow living by example by continuing on with my career and having a full, rich life, and I am incidentally gay, but it's not a big political platform. I justified it in so many ways. Believe me, I had a very, very long and difficult struggle with my sexuality.

Portia de Rossi (on changing her name): I picked Portia because I was a Shakespeare fan.

Portia de Rossi: In high school I had sex with girls quite a few times. They were straight women who I convinced to jump in the sack with me.

Portia de Rossi: A lot of models call themselves bisexual, so I just hid behind that title for a very long time.

Portia de Rossi: Actually, I came out to my mom three times. First at 16, when she found The Joy of Lesbian Sex under my bed. She was devastated.

Portia de Rossi: Eventually I just want to rescue animals and live on that farm.

Portia de Rossi: Ellen just bought me a horse, Jones, who's a beautiful big gray gelding.