When I'm not involved in an acting job I try to run 10 miles a day.

They wanted to make her less rural, less of a cartoon. Not that Southern woman are cartoonish - they're the strongest women in this country, but with Val they wanted to take the stereotypical things out.

So I had all the names, three names, and that's good to have on a soap.

Running is my church.

Running is a great way to relieve stress and clear the mind.

Knots was about the relationships that were built over many years.

I'm Presbyterian and I don't go to church very much.

I want to play trailer trash; I swear to God.

I need to run every day. If I don't I feel cheated.

I had been doing plays in New York and on a whim we packed up and moved West, I started doing commercials and plays and guest star spots on TV and one thing led to another and I got Knots Landing.

I didn't even know Michele before we started the show but we became great friends, and still are.

A couple of years ago I ran in the LA Marathon.

My brother Mark still lives in the house we grew up in.

You've got to realize that any lady on a soap is devoting her life to it, 24/7.

When you're on a long running series, you reach a very rarefied, high oxygen area and after a while to keep a show on the air they have to make some very drastic changes.