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My Journey to the Top

NEWSWEEK

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There have always been long periods of time that I haven't actually worked. And those are devastating times. It's not like I was hungry. It's not like I was living out of my car. But emotionally if you're an artist, not being able to speak your language or to express yourself is like being in purgatory.

I did "Born on the Fourth of July." I did "Mr. & Mrs. Bridge." I did "Something to Talk About," and "Phenomenon." And then I didn't work for a couple of years. I'm sure that no small part of it is due to the fact that I chose to have children and get married. It was a monumentally unsexy thing to do, frankly. It's just not sexy for a young, hot actress to get married at 22 and start having babies. You're no longer available, and I think that for some people that may be something that gets in the way of some kind of mystique.

I had this dream that when I had my children I was just going to want to be with them, and I wouldn't want to work. It's taken me a really long time to embrace my ambition and accept it in a loving way as part of who I am instead of putting myself down for it. And if there's anything I could change about my life, it's that I wish I hadn't given myself such a hard time. The fact is that my kids have turned out great. Recently, when I was offered the role on my show, "The Closer," I got a lot of encouragement from my husband, Kevin Bacon. I wouldn't have taken this job without his encouragement, and I don't know if I'm proud of that or not.

I think that women as a group are so powerful. We're so right about so many things politically. We understand the bigger picture. We understand our impact on the environment, on the world. I would love us to be a more cohesive group. Politically, we're still forming—we don't realize how much power we wield.

Andrea Wong
President and CEO of Lifetime Entertainment Services

My parents always allowed me to fail when I was growing up, and that gave me a lot of strength going forward. I lost high-school and junior-high elections when I ran for class president. I learned early in life to get up, dust yourself off and keep going.

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Posted By: pinkiroy @ 10/19/2007 4:43:48 PM

Thanks a lot for the well elucidated artices,illustrating how women have come to the top. I am sure this will definately be an encouraging article which will go a long way in making we "women" realizt that we are indeed "Shakti"...meaning power...asis depicted by the great epics of Indian sprituality.
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Posted By: leyla @ 10/18/2007 7:38:08 AM

Women from all over the world face same challenges. As long as we will not have a self -esteem problem
we can accomplish at least twice as men do. Be it politics, business or social domaines...Thank you
Newsweek for introducing new role models. Leyla Alaton G??nyeli from ??stanbul-Turkey.
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Posted By: jayant @ 10/17/2007 1:41:59 AM

My million thanks to Newsweek magazine and the journalists who covered this story for putting Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Ms Mayawati among the top 8 women leaders in world. These laurels from a reputed magazine like Newsweek are rightly deserved by Mayawati. Such a highly valued recognition would have never come from the Indian media which is totally controlled by the forces of bramhnical social order. The Indian media is so utterly biased and partisan that it makes even an ordinary person from amongst the so called "upper caste" look like a big hero by repeatedly portraying him in media. On the other hand the big heroes from the Bahujan Samaj ( majority lower castes and converted minorities) who have made huge contributions in nation building are totally ignored by this same partisan Indiam media. Hats off to Newsweek !