When it comes to Hollywood stars, there are few as funny, down-to-earth, and just plain honest as Kristen Bell [1]. The star of such beloved stories as Frozen and The Good Place (plus the upcoming Veronica Mars revival [2]) has gotten a reputation for being unfiltered and relatable [3] in every interview she does. Whether she's opening up about her marriage [4] to Dax Shepard or questioning the messages that Disney princess stories [5] sometimes send, her comments are always quippy and quotable, but smart and memorable, too. We've rounded up some of Kristen's best wisdom for whenever you could use a bit of advice from Hollywood's cool big sis.
On Being Yourself
- "I was a very late bloomer [7] — I didn't even go through puberty until I was 17 — so my interest to hang out with guys was never about sexual exploration. I just wanted to hang out and talk about hockey. There was no Brad Pitt [8] or Tom Cruise [9] for me, only Red Wings players like Darren McCarty, Steve Yzerman, and Kris Draper."
- "I consider myself a very nice person [10] and there are plenty of times I want to scream at someone on the street."
- "I was so hungry for weirdos; I couldn't be Stepford if I tried."
- "Being good involves practice [11]. If you choose it consistently, it starts to become second nature. I strive to promote happiness and alleviate suffering however I can. How we relate to one another is important."
On Being a Mom
- "[Reading with my kids [12]] is truly my favourite part of the day. I glance away from the book and see their brains working while we're all cuddled up like meerkats."
- "Every time we close Snow White I look at my girls and ask, 'Don't you think it's weird that Snow White didn't ask the old witch why she needed to eat the apple? Or where she got that apple?' I say, 'I would never take food from a stranger, would you?' And my kids are like, 'No!' And I'm like, 'Okay, I'm doing something right.'"
- "I love my kids more than life itself [13], but they are also disgusting, feral creatures who live in my home. My daughter gave me pinworms recently."
On Her Marriage to Dax Shepard
- "This isn't a special fairytale [14]. This is two people who worked really hard and it's attainable for you if you work really hard in your marriage too."
- "Rejoice in what makes the other person happy [15], and allow them their individual interests. Know that everyone is doing the best they can with what they've got. So get a bigger emotional toolbox to fix your problems."
- "I think what alleviates the pressure-cooker of monogamy [16] is understanding that your partner's attraction to someone else is nothing to do with you. I talk about who I'm attracted to in front of Dax, and he'll say: "I could never pick your type out in a line-up!"."
- "All these movies from the '80s taught us that it's love at first sight, and it is supposed to be easy and [that] all you have to do is find that person. It took me a while to realise, 'Oh, that was such a lie,' because things that you work really, really, really hard for always yield the best results [17]."
On Mental Health
- "Don't be fooled by this game of perfection that humans play. Instagram and magazines and TV shows strive for a certain aesthetic, and everything looks so beautiful. People seem like they don't have any problems, but everyone's human. Everyone has problems [18] — everyone feels yucky on the inside sometimes."
- "I know from the outside it can look like, 'Oh! She's got it so together! And has a career that looks nice and is doing all these things with these charities.' But I am struggling to keep it together [19] on a day-to-day basis, and I know that's what everyone feels like, so that's what I like to see in my characters."
On Her Iconic Roles
- "The boy doesn't matter [in Frozen]. It's about a girl who's struggling [20] because she doesn't want to be who she actually is — a queen. People wanted to see Elsa accept who she is. That's what every little person who lives inside us wants."
- "There is something challenging about only having your voice [21] to convey emotion and leaving it to the animators to come up with your facial expressions."
- "[Veronica Mars] feels good in my bones [22], and because I learned how to deliver a one-liner on that show. I learned how to become more of a comedian."