A great Q/A session with Kellie Martin!

What changed this woman's life? ER's Kellie Martin put acting on hold to complete college and take up a cause close to her heart.

(Q:)What three accomplishments are you most proud of?

KM: Being a daughter, a sister, and a wife. Being married is better than I ever thought. It's nice to know that I'm going to be with someone for the rest of my life.

(Q:)If you had to carry your most prized possesions on your back, what would you take?

KM: I'd need a big bag because I'd have to put in my chocolate lab, Phoebe; my cat, Isabella; and my husband, Keith. There's nothing I can't live without except for them.

(Q:)What experience has most changed you?

KM: My sister passed away from lupus in 1998. I became the spokesperson for the American Autoimmune Related Diseases Association a few months later. What I want out of life is very different from what I wanted before my sister got sick. When something powerful happens, you decide to be either better or worse for it.

(Q:)If your life philosophy could be summed up on a bumper sticker, what would it say?

KM: MEAN PEOPLE SUCK.

(Q:)What do you wish someone had told you earlier in your life?

KM: Never dye your hair. When you're an actress they always want you to dye it. I wouldn't until I was 18 years old, and from then on, I really dont think I looked like myself. I'm letting it grow out in my natural color.

(Q:)What's the dinner of your dreams?

KM: Lots of sushi and lots of red wine.

(Q:)What physical activity would you get out of bed at sunrise for?

KM: I love to get up and do yoga or Pilates. I'll get out of bed for every physical activity.

(Q:)Which healthy habit are you most proud of?

KM: I eat well-balanced meals three times a day. It's hard to take care of yourself in this business. To look thin on camera you have to be at least 10 pounds underweight, and I would rather be happy in persont than look good on camera.

(Q:)What healthy habit do you wish you had?

KM: I wish I had fewer healthy habits. I think I'd have a little more fun if I'd allow myself to eat more chocolate-chip cookies.

(Q:)What piece of clothing do you put on when you know you have to look good?

KM: Big shoes. They can be platforms or they can be stilettos--as long as they make me taller.

(Q:)Who would you want to star in the movie of your life?

KM: I'd have to do it. This is the part I was born to play.

(Q:)Recite one thing you know by heart.

KM: My first lines ever when I was 7 years old and I played Flossy on Father Murphy: "Tell me the rest of Rapunzel, Joe. How the prince came and took her away." I also still know the entire first episode of Life Goes On.

(Q:)At what moment did you first start feeling like a grown-up?

KM: I haven't had that moment yet. I'm married and I've had a job since I was 7, but I have not had that moment.

(Q:)What one physical feature of yours are you absolutely, unreservedly happy with?

KM: My lungs. When I feel myself get nervous, I just concentrate on breathing. That's why I would never smoke.

(Q:)When you look in the mirror, what do you see?

KM: Someone several years older than I think I am.


--A great interview QA session with Kellie! Visit Self_Magazine online at http://www.self.com



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