Billie Burke Quotations

An actress who has the gift of swaying the emotions of an audience, of compelling tribute of tears, or of moving the public to joyous merriment, cannot always be satisfied to set aside her whole career, in the work that she loves, simply because she is married.

If I ever loved a man better than I love my art, I should marry him and leave the stage. But I have never met such a man.

I am constantly amazed when I talk to young people to learn how much they know about sex and how little about soap.

I think when an actress marries she should leave the stage. She cannot be happy if she is married and remains on the stage. She must care more for her art or for her husband.

There is no reason why marriage should necessarily compel an actress to forego her career.

A woman isn't as old as she thinks she is. She's as old as men think she is.

It seems to me that the most fundamental mistake most parents make with children is to expect them to be grateful. Children are never grateful. ... The 'sacrifices' you made were not for them, they were for you.

To survive there, you need the ambition of a Latin-American revolutionary, the ego of a grand opera tenor, and the physical stamina of a cow pony.

Age is something that doesn't matter, unless you are a cheese

This is an era of woman's work in many spheres of activity -- of independent thought and individual achievement in the arts and sciences and learned professions, as well as the humbler, but not more self-sacrificing fields of usefulness. But every woman pursues the eternal quest for love, for sympathy, for understanding, for happiness, and in her heart is the great, holy yearning for motherhood.