Zooey Deschanel on How to Be the Quirky Girl Next Door

"Definitely none of the kids I grew up with would have ever thought, 'Zooey will be on television and have her own show.' I wasn't the world's most popular child, which gave me built-in tenacity. Nothing has ever come easy for me, and I think that's a really good thing. I learned at an early age that you have to work hard for what you get."

— Zooey told Elle Magazine

"I think comedy's just about being interested in comedy and what makes people laugh and experimenting. I've always loved making people laugh . . . but I did drama, too. I sort of consider myself a comedic actress, not a comedienne. Playing into comedic situations is sort of where, I think, my strength lies."

— Zooey told College Magazine

"This business is all about branding! But I've never been like, 'Let's calculate an image.' I'm just, 'I like that. Let's do that.' I grew up loving French New Wave movies, and so a lot of what I like is that style. It's just about doing what you like so that when you look at yourself, you're not disgusted. And I'm all about unintentional."

— Zooey told Glamour

"I find the more I get to know myself, the happier I am — and the better I am. I think that's true of everyone."

— Zooey told Health magazine

"I always wanted to be normal. But it's like I try so hard to be normal and people still say I'm offbeat. I guess it's part of the thing of being an actor: you realize you have a persona and that you have to accept it. You have to know your limitations. Sometimes you'll play a part and it just doesn't work, you know? But that's part of me that I've learned to accept and take advantage of as an actor."

— Zooey told Stylist UK

"Women are won over by people who are sweet and respectful and pretty and kind and funny — those are the things that win women over. And the mistake that anyone can make is not being themselves. You can only trick people for so long."

— Zooey told Ask Men

"When I was 13, I wasn't the coolest kid in my class, and that inner dork is a wonderful thing to have. On behalf of middle-schoolers all around, I would like to represent! I was a lot like Jess, and I'll leave it at that."

— Zooey told Ask Men

"We can't be feminine and be feminists and be successful? I want to be a f-cking feminist and wear a f-cking Peter Pan collar. So f-cking what?"

— Zooey told Glamour

"Somebody asked me, 'How did you start doing comedy?' and I was like, 'By being unintentionally funny.' I think making a movie or a record, the best things happen by accident — and those end up being the magic. Every time I've followed my gut, it's been better than when I've tried to do what I was supposed to do."

— Zooey told Glamour

"I'm just going where the material is. Some of the smartest people run the network I'm on. People sometimes say, 'Oh, you were a movie star,' and I'm like, 'No, I was a supporting actress.' I wasn't an A-list actress, and I'm fine with that. I'm proud of what I did in film. But getting to do the stuff that I was passionate about was such an uphill battle. If New Girl had been a movie, I don't know whether I would have been given the opportunity to do it."

— Zooey told Glamour

"Actresses have definitely gotten thinner over the course of my lifetime. Women I admired growing up — Debra Winger, Diane Keaton, Meryl Streep — were all beautiful and thin, but not too thin. There are a lot of actresses who are unhealthy-skinny — much, much too skinny. You can't Pilates to that. I'm a very small person, and if I lost 15 pounds, I'd look like them; it's scary. For young girls, what does that say? You need to look this way to be successful? That's not true. You do not need to look or be anorexic to be successful in Hollywood. The range of what's acceptable is larger than what people believe."

— Zooey told Glamour

"I don't get it when people just have the goal of meeting someone — then it's only about the goal. I've never been a five-year planner."

— Zooey told Glamour

"I always think that fashion is an expression of how you're feeling right at that moment. I mean, there are times when people don't like what I wear, but I like it, so I don't care about them."

— Zooey told Allure

"I've always had a lot of guy friends, so I love the camaraderie between Jess and the guys. I think it's important to have guy friends because it provides a different perspective. I really like the relationship."

— Zooey told College Magazine

"I love writing music and that's a real outlet for me, and then acting's a whole other [thing]. It's sort of like I need it all."

— Zooey told Allure

"I just feel really happy that I get to have a job that I love. . . . A steady job is fun."

— Zooey told Allure

"I'm not a spa girl. And I sort of go insane if I go to a place that's too remote. Just being at home and getting to have a couple hours where there's nothing planned is completely relaxing to me."

— Zooey told Health magazine

"I co-founded it with my two friends, Molly and Sophia. We wanted to create a place that was a positive destination, where we had a lot of interesting writers, not just people who write for a living, but people with a lot of different perspectives. It's really fun to have created a place for people to express themselves. And also, we don't allow negative comments on the site, because we don't want our writers to feel bad about expressing themselves. We want them to feel free and happy."

— Zooey told Stylist UK

"I'm watching every week and seeing what's working. I'm using my own sensibilities to inform how I play the character. So, if I think something seems like too much, the next time we do something like that, I'm going to pull it back a little bit. I think all of us are doing that."

— Zooey told BuzzSugar

"I try not to read reviews. Some people have an 'all or nothing' approach. They read everything and they're maniacs about it. Or they are off the grid and don't read anything. I'm a little bit in between. I just sort of read the good reviews. If somebody is trashing me, I don't really want to hear it. I like people who like me. People love having an opinion, which is great, but I don't always need to hear it. I need to trust my own judgment about the performances I give. I'll be very critical of myself. If I watch something and it's not right, I'll freely admit it to myself. I try to trust my own instincts."

— Zooey told Stylist UK

"I think I'm pretty fun. I'm pretty much always cheerful. I go on tour with my band, and it's 12 people on one bus. And I feel like I'm the one who's happy in the morning. I'm not a chaotic person, but cheerful. But I might slack off on doing dishes."

— Zooey told Stylist UK