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I was never a child actor. I was a child performer.

I was a little girl who grew up idolizing musical-theatre stars.

I wasn't like a Hollywood child actor - 'I'm five! I can sing, I can dance, I can act! I wanna be a star!'

The idea of being a 'child star' always sounded awful to people my age, and so I was just very aware that these things are kind of fleeting and that a lot of it didn't have to do with me: it had to do with my age; it had to do with whatever came to mind when people thought of a young internet sensation.

I don't feel I was ever a 'famous' child actor. I was just a working actor who happened to be a kid. I was never really in a hit show until I was a teenager with West Wing playing First Daughter Zoey Bartlet. In a way, that was my saving grace - not being a star on a hit show. It kept me working and kept me grounded.

I've never really felt like I was a child actor. Just an actor who happened to be quite young.

I wasn't a child who wanted to be an actor.

It was a mixed blessing to have famous parents. It was tough to go to auditions and be bad, since I couldn't be anonymous.

I was never that kind of star. I was never cast because I was gorgeous.

I didn't start out to be a movie star. I started out to be an actor.