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I went to the Academy and studied with Stuck who was then a big man. But didn't interest me. I didn't know that before me there was Kandinsky and Klee who had also studied with Stuck. He had a good name at that time.

Back in Romania, always I was struggling to compete with Vladislav Rastorotsky, the great Russian coach of Lyudmila Turishcheva. He was a powerful coach, internationally. I took him like the major challenge of my life, and pretty soon I'm beating him and we are pushing each other so hard, so fierce. But out of the arena, we are friends.

I met Patti LuPone and Elaine Paige in a party. I didn't speak too much with Patti, but she was lovely with me.

Nico Tinbergen was my doctoral supervisor, and he was a benign, avuncular sort of influence; everybody loved him.

Peter Dinklage is one of my oldest friends from New York!

I met Seamus Heaney and Michael Longley on the same day in 1968. I was sixteen at the time. Very exciting. They were reading at Armagh. One of my teachers brought me to meet them, introduced me, and I became friends with them.

My relationship with George Steinbrenner was great. He was the boss, and I accepted that.

I was a Valley girl; I hung out, and through a photographer friend. I met Peter Douglas, who was one of Kirk Douglas's kids. He introduced me to Sam Spiegel.