110+ Lauren Bacall Quotes On Aging, Charismatic And Iconic

Lauren Bacall was an American actress known for her distinctive husky voice and sultry looks. She was born Betty Joan Perske in 1924, and began her career as a model before becoming an actress. She is best remembered for her roles in the film noir classics The Big Sleep and Key Largo. Following is our collection on famous quotes by Lauren Bacall on aging, love, charismatic.

Top 10 Lauren Bacall Quotes

1. Imagination is the highest kite one can fly.
2. I think your whole life shows in your face and you should be proud of that.
3. Life is amazing, life is odd. Life is not what you expected it to be. Things happen... Growing up takes longer than you think.
4. Standing still is the fastest way of moving backwards in a rapidly changing world.
5. You don't always win your battles, but it's good to know you fought.
6. Legends are all to do with the past and nothing to do with the present.
7. The best things in life are clean living, good works, and big saphires. And not in that order.
8. Find me a man who's interesting enough to have dinner with and I'll be happy.
9. I am essentially a loner.
10. Being a liberal is the best thing on earth you can be. You are welcoming to everyone when you're a liberal. You do not have a small mind.

Lauren Bacall Image Quotes

I think your whole life shows in your face and you should be proud of that. — Lauren Bacall

Lauren Bacall Short Quotes

• A woman isn't complete without a man. But where do you find a man - a real man - these days?
• In Hollywood, an equitable divorce settlement means each party getting fifty percent of publicity.
• It's not an old movie if you haven't seen it.
• Isn't hope an incredible, a wonderfully demented thing?
• I'm not a sedentary person. I've always been active.
• If goodness is its own reward, shouldn't we get a little something for being naughty?
• I always brought up my children not to believe in Mothers Day gifts, and now I regret it.
• His (Frank Sinatra) attention span was not long, shall we say.
• You can't always be a leading lady.
• I like to work with really good professional people - anyone with real talent.

Lauren Bacall Quotes About Aging

We live in an age of mediocrity. Stars today are not the same stature as Bogie [Humphrey Bogart], James Cagney, Spencer Tracy, Henry Fonda and Jimmy Stewart [James Stewart]. — Lauren Bacall

After the age of 30 in the movie profession, you're pretty well over as far as the casting people are concerned. — Lauren Bacall

Always I'm feeling, 'You're never going to work again.' That's going to happen one day, but I hope I'm not alive. — Lauren Bacall

Lauren Bacall Quotes About Love

How in hell can you handle love without turning your life upside down? That's what love does, it changes everything. — Lauren Bacall

I don't think being the only child of a single parent helped. I was always a little unsteady in my self-belief. Then there was the Jewish thing. I love being Jewish, I have no problem with it at all. But it did become like a scar, with all these people saying you don't look it. — Lauren Bacall

The early romance was the most romantic experience I have ever had in my life - far surpassing anything I might've dreamed of or imagined, it was quite amazing. When you are young and it's your first love and you are just carried away by it and that's all you can think about. — Lauren Bacall

The first time anything happens to you - your first love, your first success - the second one is never the same. — Lauren Bacall

the real stakes in the theater are high - they are life stakes. That's what I love about it. You gamble with your life, and that's a gamble worth taking. — Lauren Bacall

Lauren Bacall Quotes About Life

You spend a good part of your adult life acquiring things: building a home, filling it with objects that please your eye and make you feel comfortable. Then you spend the last part of your life trying to figure out how to get rid of it all. — Lauren Bacall

I hope I'm thought of as not just a showbiz personality, but as someone who has lived a life and who has hopefully made a contribution to something along the way - someone who is a human being as well as an actress. — Lauren Bacall

Looking at yourself in a mirror isn't exactly a study of life. — Lauren Bacall

When you talk about a great actor, you're not talking about Tom Cruise. His whole behavior is so shocking. — Lauren Bacall

It's inappropriate and vulgar and absolutely unacceptable to use your private life to sell anything commercially. — Lauren Bacall

I'm crazy enough to believe in taking chances in every way, in making choices and gambling with your life. That's the kind of gambling I believe in. — Lauren Bacall

The purity of Jewish upbringing - the restrictions that one carries through life being a 'nice Jewish girl' - what a burden. — Lauren Bacall

Everything in this country [the US] has got to be good looks and unlined faces and thin bodies and people running around in skirts slit up to their ass. It has nothing to do with thinking or with being a human being. There is life in mature people; it's not all over at 24½. — Lauren Bacall

I fairly often have thought how lucky I was. I knew everybody because I was married to Bogie, and that 25-year difference was the most fantastic thing for me to have in my life. — Lauren Bacall

Acting is a life of rejection. — Lauren Bacall

Lauren Bacall Famous Quotes And Sayings

I think your whole life shows in your face and you should be proud of that. — Lauren Bacall

You learn to cope with whatever you have to cope with. I spent my childhood in New York, riding on subways and buses. And you know what you learn if you're a New Yorker? The world doesn't owe you a damn thing. — Lauren Bacall

I find that through the sad times, work is what made my continuing, not breaking down, possible. In work, I was always someone else and I subconsciously reveled in that. — Lauren Bacall

I remember my oldest son, Steve, saying to me once, 'I don't ever remember seeing you with an apron on.' And I thought, that's right, honey, you did not. That was his concept of what a mother should be. — Lauren Bacall

I used to tremble from nerves so badly that the only way I could hold my head steady was to lower my chin practically to my chest and look up at Bogie. That was the beginning of The Look. — Lauren Bacall

[Katharine Hepburn] was much stronger, much more opinionated than I am or ever was, and it was considered attractive on her. But not on me. I don't know. Maybe her Bryn Mawr accent was more appealing than mine. — Lauren Bacall

I have made mistakes in the past and been in movies that really weren't good, and that I needed the money at the time, or something -- and the money wasn't even that great. But I needed it, and... they come back on television, those movies... to haunt you. And it's a nightmare! — Lauren Bacall

How many women do we know who were continually kissed by Clark Gable, William Powell, Cary Grant, Spencer Tracy and Fredric March? Only one: Myrna Loy... — Lauren Bacall

I don't sit around thinking that I'd like to have another husband; only another man would make me think that way. — Lauren Bacall

Young people, even in Hollywood, ask me, 'Were you really married to Humphrey Bogart?' 'Well, yes, I think I was,' I reply. — Lauren Bacall

You can't start worrying about what's going to happen. You get spastic enough worrying about what's happening now. — Lauren Bacall

If you want me just whistle. You know how to whistle don't you? Just put your lips together and blow. — Lauren Bacall

I am not a has-been. I am a will be. — Lauren Bacall

How long an actress lives professionally depends on her stamina, the extent of her masochism, her imagination, and her yearning for recognition or approval. — Lauren Bacall

The times in which we're currently living unfortunately, our great leader [George W. Bush] is such a disaster and the entire country is in disastrous shape because of him. It's very frightening, actually, to think that this country has become what it's become and that so many people voted for a man like that. It's terrifying. — Lauren Bacall

No, I don't like legend. I mean, I don't like the category. And to begin with, to me, a legend is something that is not on the Earth, that is dead — Lauren Bacall

Growing up takes longer than you think. — Lauren Bacall

Sophie, my dog, is the high in the highlights of my life. Even through rain, snow, ice, and general laziness, she is the reason I smile when I wake up and a comfort to me continually. I could never have imagined that a now five-pound, six-ounce dog would take over my life. But it has happened, and I am happy to have someone to look after and share my moods with. — Lauren Bacall

I finally felt that I came into my own when I went on the stage. — Lauren Bacall

I had a lot of frustrations about my career. A lot of, you know, times where I felt I should've been considered for a part that I wasn't considered for. — Lauren Bacall

They think actors are freaks - that we're a lot of drunks who party all the time and never work. Well, I for one work my tail off. — Lauren Bacall

When you are playing a part like that where you have traveled - you begin to think, God what a great life. Independent, living alone and how dramatic. — Lauren Bacall

The industry is s**t, it's the medium that's great. — Lauren Bacall

Being a liberal is the best thing on earth you can be. You are welcoming to everyone when you're a liberal. You do not have a small mind... I'm total, total, total liberal and proud of it. And I think it's outrageous to say "The L word". I mean, excuse me. They should be damn lucky that they were liberals here. Liberals gave more to the population of the United States than any other group. — Lauren Bacall

If there was a pause in a conversation with anyone, you could always light a cigarette, or if a man lit a cigarette for you, you could look up. It's the most dramatic thing in the world because it's intimate, it's suggestive, and that's one of the problems with giving it up, is that it's a very useful tool. — Lauren Bacall

Yes, I saw Twilight - my granddaughter made me watch it, she said it was the greatest vampire film ever. After the 'film' was over I wanted to smack her across her head with my shoe, but I do not want a (tell-all) book called Grannie Dearest written on me when I die. So instead I gave her a DVD of Murnau's 1922 masterpiece Nosferatu and told her, 'Now that's a vampire film!' And that goes for all of you! Watch Nosferatu instead! — Lauren Bacall

About working with Marilyn Monroe.We got along very well. My only complaint about her was that she was late all the time, but she was late out of fear as much as anything else, but it was hard to sit around and wait. She was usually an hour or two late every morning. — Lauren Bacall

I wish Frank Sinatra would just shut up and sing. — Lauren Bacall

No one has ever written a romance better than we lived it. — Lauren Bacall

My life has had meaning, with the friendships full and valuable and essential to me. My children, Steve, Leslie, and Sam, are all different-all first-rate human beings with high standards-whom I completely and unequivocally adore-don't always agree with-but always admire and respect. They all have wit and a sense of humor and, thank God, I have hung on to mine. — Lauren Bacall

Actors today go into TV, which I don't consider has a lot to do with acting. They only think of stardom. If you photograph well, that's enough. I have a terrible time distinguishing one from another. Girls wear their hair the same, and are much too anorexic-looking. — Lauren Bacall

The problem in America as far as actors are concerned - and it's probably true in other fields, as well - is that they don't value people who are older or talented. I don't think ability means anything. How much money you have or how much money you can make for them are the only things they seem to care about or understand. — Lauren Bacall

In the world of relationships, possibly the most complicated, uncommon, hard to find, hard to keep and most rewarding has got to be friendship. — Lauren Bacall

Hollywood is the only place in the world where an amicable divorce means each one gets fifty percent of the publicity. — Lauren Bacall

The biggest misconception people have about me is that I'm in control of every situation. I'm rarely in control of any situation. — Lauren Bacall

God if the press ever quoted anyone correctly it would be brilliant. — Lauren Bacall

All actors are terrified - they just learn how to control it. — Lauren Bacall

Generally women are better than men -- they have more character. I prefer men for some things, obviously, but women have a greater sense of honor and are more willing to take a chance with their lives. — Lauren Bacall

Patience was not my strong point. — Lauren Bacall

The madmen seem to live on forever, don't they? — Lauren Bacall

Well, the people I've known I must say are extraordinary. When I think about some of them, I can't believe that I knew them all. And I think the reason I knew most of them at the beginning was because they were of Bogie's generation, 25 years my senior, not mine. But they were the most talented people of all. — Lauren Bacall

Life is not what you expected it to be. — Lauren Bacall

He named me. He liked the sound of it. And I said, well, all right. I felt a little odd about it. I don't understand all that name changing business anyway... No, he felt that Lauren Bacall was better sounding than Betty Bacall. He had a vision of his own. He was a svengali. He wanted to mold me. He wanted to control me. And he did until Mr. Bogart got involved. — Lauren Bacall

Imagination is the highest kite that can fly. — Lauren Bacall

I never believed marriage was a lasting institution . . . I thought that to be married for five years was to be married forever. — Lauren Bacall

My mother was the greatest example to me of anyone I've ever known. She didn't have an easy life. I adored her. She worked hard all her life, and she was the one who set my values. She was quite an amazing woman, although she wasn't tough at all. — Lauren Bacall

I think I'm damn lucky. I'm lucky that my kids are all straight, that they haven't ended up in jail, that they're all worthwhile human beings, thank God. Their lives are happy; they have happy partners, wives, husbands. — Lauren Bacall

You had to stay awake married to him [Humphrey Bogart]. Every time I thought I could relax and do everything I wanted, he'd buck. There was no way to predict his reactions, no matter how well I knew him. As he'd said before our wedding, he expected to be happily married and stay that way, but he never expected to settle down. He liked keeping people off balance. He was good for me -- I could never be quite sure what he would do. — Lauren Bacall

I am not a wealthy woman. I wish to hell I was, but I never had a wealthy man. — Lauren Bacall

Each time a friend dies, the present becomes the past, in an instant. — Lauren Bacall

I'm total, total, total liberal and proud of it. — Lauren Bacall

Remember what Bogie and my mother both used to say: 'Character is the most important thing. All that matters is character!' — Lauren Bacall

Very few people want to hear the truth. Bogie was like that, my mother was like that, and I'm like that. I believe in the truth, and I believe in saying what you think. Why not? Do you have to go around whispering all the time or playing a game with people? I just don't believe in that. So I'm not the most adored person on the face of the earth. — Lauren Bacall

Naïveté, thy name is me. — Lauren Bacall

If there was one thing I had never been, it was mysterious, and if there was one thing I had never done, it was not talk. — Lauren Bacall

As long as I can walk and talk, I'll try almost anything. I say "almost" because the high wire is definitely out. — Lauren Bacall

I called my business manager in California and said, 'Sell all of my stock' - what little of it I had - and it's the only smart financial move I ever made. — Lauren Bacall

Actors today go into TV, which I don't consider has a lot to do with acting. They only think of stardom — Lauren Bacall

I don't consider myself a great actress. I'm just trying to stay alive, actually. I think I'm good, and I've learned a lot, certainly, mostly in the theater. I've been sloughed off movies for years. But what can you do? That's life. — Lauren Bacall

One thing I am convinced of is that the more you do, the more you can do. — Lauren Bacall

No, I'm afraid they might slip and hit a nerve and I'd end up with one side of my face hanging down or something. I'll just stick with this one for a while and take my chances. I'll be brave. — Lauren Bacall

They're guys who want to screw around all the time, which interests me not at all. God knows we've done that, been there, and we don't want to do that any more. — Lauren Bacall

I always thought I had crooked eyebrows and crooked teeth. That's why I never understood why people called me a beauty. — Lauren Bacall

I was this flat-chested, big-footed, lanky thing. — Lauren Bacall

I'll miss Hollywood. Of the twenty friends I thought I had, I'll miss the six I really had. — Lauren Bacall

People should tell your children what life is all about - it's about work. — Lauren Bacall

"My obit is going to be full of Bogart, I'm sure," she says, adding, "I'll never know if that's true. If that's the way it is, that's the way it is." — Lauren Bacall

Most women use more brains picking a horse in the third at Belmont than they do picking a husband — Lauren Bacall

A planned life is a dead life. — Lauren Bacall

The reason you get married is to be together, not to be separated. — Lauren Bacall

Howard Hawks said he'd like to put me in a film with Cary Grant or Humphrey Bogart. I thought, "Cary Grant-terrific! Humphrey Bogart-yucch." — Lauren Bacall

Men need to feel important. They feel better when they're with younger girls or unknown girls. — Lauren Bacall

Losing Bogey was horrible, obviously. Because he was young. And because he gave me my life. I wouldn't have had a - I don't know what would have happened to me if I hadn't met him. I would have had a completely different kind of life. He changed me, he gave me everything. And he was an extraordinary man. — Lauren Bacall

Life Lessons by Lauren Bacall

1. Life is full of unexpected turns, and it is important to stay resilient and keep pushing forward no matter what. Lauren Bacall was a successful actress despite the many challenges she faced in her career.
2. It is important to stay true to yourself and never give up on your dreams. Bacall was a strong-willed woman who refused to conform to Hollywood's expectations of her and instead forged her own path.
3. Always take risks and never be afraid to try something new. Bacall was a risk-taker who was willing to take on challenging roles and push the boundaries of what was accepted in Hollywood at the time.