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Every human being on this earth is born with a tragedy, and it isn't original sin. He's born with the tragedy that he has to grow up. That he has to leave the nest, the security, and go out to do battle. He has to lose everything that is lovely and fight for a new loveliness of his own making, and it's a tragedy. A lot of people don't have the courage to do it.

— Helen Hayes Showcase (1966)

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More quotes by Helen Hayes

People who refuse to rest honorably on their laurels when they reach "retirement" age seem very admirable to me.

My Life in Three Acts (1990)

An actress always knows when she’s hit it and mostly you haven’t; but once or twice I think I hit it right, so maybe that’s good enough for one life.

The worst constructed play is a Bach fugue when compared to life.

On Reflection (1968)

Actors work and slave — and it is the color of your hair that can determine your fate in the end.

On Reflection (1968)

One has to grow up with good talk in order to form the habit of it.

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Attribution

Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Helen Hayes (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.