Esther Williams

Somehow I kept my head above water. I relied on the discipline, character, and strength that I had started to develop as that little girl in her first swimming pool.

I always felt that if I made a movie, it would be one movie; I didn't see how they could make 26 swimming movies.

I took a job at the pool in order to earn the five cents a day it cost to swim. I counted wet towels. As a bonus, I was allowed to swim during lunchtime.

I don't believe in that kind of American John Wayne individualism where people pull themselves up by their bootstraps. Someone changed your diapers. And if that's the case, you ain't self-made.

If you're not having a good time, find something else that gives you some joy in life.

My first career ambitions involved turning into a boy; I intended to be either a railway guard or a knight errant.