Camryn Manheim (Actor)

"All the kids in California walked around in bathing suits; people went grocery shopping in bikinis. It was horrifying for me. I think gaining weight was a shield against that body-image stuff." --Manheim in PEOPLE, November 21, 1994

"I have always felt like a misfit in Hollywood, Well, actually, like a misfit in life. To be included in this very elite club [the Emmys] was more than just an honor. It felt like the fighting and the struggles I've been through will finally see an end." --Manheim quoted in USA TODAY, August 25, 1998

"I want to create my own type. I'm a five-foot-10 Amazon who isn't afraid to be naked or to kiss men or to be sexual anymore. I'm not pathetic, and I'm not self-deprecating. But I am still looking for a boyfriend, so I'd be really grateful if you could slip that in [the article] somewhere." --Manheim in THE NEW YORK TIMES, October 23, 1994

"I'm fat . . . a sexy, confident woman who embraces herself and isn't afraid." --Camryn Manheim in PEOPLE, November 21, 1994

"She can play anyone." --stage director Michael Mayer in PEOPLE, November 21, 1994

"Someone has to dispel these myths that we [overweight people] are pathetic slobs. Yes, I'm fat. Yes, if there were a magic pill to make my body thin, I would take it. But I'm going to stop beating myself up, because what's inside that body is so worthwhile." --Manheim in PEOPLE, November 21, 1994

"There was a certain lack of support for Camryn at NYU. So she was pretty insecure. But Camryn is phenomenally talented and was perfect for the lead, so I cast her, which sort of shocked her. She was worried she wouldn't be taken seriously as a grown-up woman with adult sexual desires. She had no reason to be nervous. She's quite beautiful, immensely passionate." --Playwright Tony Kushner in THE NEW YORK TIMES, October 23, 1994

Manheim rides a motorcycle and has since finishing at NYU also worked and volunteered as a sign language interpreter for the hearing-impaired.

She has 12 earrings in her right ear.