“I think she has influenced me in more ways than I know. She was such a pioneer, she was a woman before her time, and she was doing things that nobody else was doing. Being a movie star and having five kids, and sort of living out loud and being fearless and breaking all the rules. She was somebody that beat to her own drum and was such a free spirit and I really admire that. Not to say that it was easy, but she was ambitious and wanted so much of life, and had a huge appetite for it. I think I’m like that a lot. And I think obviously she gave me the idea to be an actor which is a career that I have fallen madly in love with. She had a love for family and a love for children. She was a compassionate woman, an empathetic woman, but again somebody who did it the way she wanted to and by her own design, especially at the beginning. She was somebody who had big dreams and followed them. That’s pretty inspiring to me.”
"By the time she was 34 years old, she had five kids and a successful career. My mom never said no to life- she wanted to experience everything. When she died, she left so much behind"
“Every day I feel closer to her and like I really am her daughter because she made her dream come true, and I am living mine now. She was ahead of her time. I just can't believe this little girl from Texas had five children, dogs, a house, a career, and a husband by the time she was 34. Like, I think I do that a lot?”
“My mother was ahead of her time, a very modern woman in not so modern times. She was the original wonder woman, a role model. She had a career, she had five children. She was sexy, she was musically talented and she had an amazingly high IQ. I am in awe of her for that. She had a zest for life and lived every mintue to the fullest. She did it all.”
“My mom had five kids, worked, had a million dogs and played the violin. I look at my life now and think, I'm on a TV show, I run a foundation, I run a household, I'm a mom, I'm a wife, I'm a lot of things, I realize I'm like that because it's what I know”
“Everybody would say, ‘Oh, you’re so pretty, you look just like your mom,’ They would pinch my cheek. It’s what you do to cute children in Italy.”But it hurt! Those Italians were so strong. I felt like they were pulling my cheek off. ‘Why are they pulling my cheek, Daddy? Daddy, make them stop!’ People would flip when they found out ‘Oh, you’re Jayne Mansfield’s daughter.’ I put two and two together and figured out that she must have been someone.”
“She’s definitely always with me. I love it when people say, ‘She had such a great laugh, and so do you.’ When I find similarities, it gives me so much peace.”
"My mother was more intelligent than people thought; She just gave the public what they wanted."
"I want to be accepted as myself, not as Jayne Mansfield's daughter."
"I was jealous of all my actress friends who were experimenting with blond hair or acting really sexy. I never felt that I had to permission to do these things, Because my Mom was blond and sexy, and I was rebelling against who she was. I couldn't express myself the way I wanted to, or I'd be compared to her, and I wanted to stand on my own."
"I feel a total kindred spirit with anyone who has lost her mother, especially at a young age. When something like that happens it leaves a hole in your heart that can never be filled. I know I'm not over it. I'll hear women talk about their mothers and how close they are and it's so painful. I had a lovely stepmother but it's not the same as having your own mom. But I do know that hole in my heart pushed me to want to become the best mother I could be. Sometimes it's what you don't have that dictates or guides your life the most."
“I used to say, ‘I wish I knew her more. I was only three.’ And a friend said, ‘All you have to do is look in the mirror.’ It sounds so weird, but there’s a truth in it. And it gave me peace and understanding that we’re half of our parents. It sort of quelled some of my angst, or unrest, or need. So much of who I am is my parents—all three of them. I am grateful for all three. My son always goes, ‘Mama has two mamas.’ He calls Ellen ‘Grandma.’ He calls Jayne ‘Mama’s mama.’ He’s so sweet. He’ll say, ‘You don’t have your mom and dad, but you have me and Daddy.’ And I say, ‘Yes, I know, that’s all I need.’ ”
