EntertainmentCelebritiesTelevisionmary tyler moore

11 Mary Tyler Moore Quotes To Remember During Challenging Times

"You can't be brave if you've only had wonderful things happen to you."
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On Wednesday, Jan. 25, TV icon Mary Tyler Moore died after being hospitalized in Connecticut, her rep confirmed to The Huffington Post. She was 80. 

Moore gained fame after starring on “The Dick van Dyke Show.” She then went on to star as Mary Richards on “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” one of the first TV shows to feature a never-married working woman as its lead character.

Moore became a feminist icon, and the show is credited with inspiring women to break free from the stereotypical norms society had put in place for them. 

In honor of the woman who “turned the world on with her smile,” we’ve rounded up her most honest, inspirational and funny quotes. 

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Getty/Huffington Post

1. “Whatever it is, it’s OK because it’s what it is. Don’t be looking for perfection. Don’t be short-tempered with yourself. And you’ll be a whole lot nicer to be around with everyone else.” 

2. “I knew at a very early age what I wanted to do. Some people refer to it as indulging in my instincts and artistic bent. I call it just showing off, which was what I did from about three years of age on.”

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Mary Tyler Moore on set of "The Mary Tyler Moore" show.
Bettmann via Getty Images

3. “I’m not an actress who can create a character. I play me.” 

4. “You can’t be brave if you’ve only had wonderful things happen to you.”

5. “Take chances, make mistakes. That’s how you grow. Pain nourishes your courage. You have to fail in order to practice being brave.”

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Mary Tyler Moore during an appearance on "The Tonight Show" with Johnny Carson.
NBC via Getty Images

6. “Having a dream is what keeps you alive. Overcoming the challenges makes life worth living.”

7. “I’ve had the fame and the joy of getting laughter — those are gifts.” 

8. “Sometimes you have to get to know someone really well to realize you’re really strangers.”

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Mary Tyler Moore at the "On Board for amfAR" Gala to honor Angela Lansbury on May 3, 1995 in New York City.
Time Life Pictures via Getty Images

9. “You truly have to make the very best of what you’ve got. We all do.”

10. “My grandfather once said, having watched me one entire afternoon, prancing and leaping and cavorting, ‘This child will either end up on stage or in jail.’ Fortunately, I took the easy route.”

11. “I’m an experienced woman; I’ve been around ... well, alright, I might not’ve been around, but I’ve been ... nearby.”

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Before You Go

Mary Tyler Moore Style Retrospective
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Mary Tyler Moore in 1962. (credit:Bettmann via Getty Images)
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Mary Tyler Moore in rehearsal for "The Dick Van Dyke Show" in 1963. (credit:Earl Theisen Collection via Getty Images)
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Mary Tyler Moore circa 1963. (credit:Bettmann via Getty Images)
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Mary Tyler Moore in rehearsal for "The Dick Van Dyke Show" in 1963. (credit:Earl Theisen Collection via Getty Images)
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Mary Tyler Moore circa 1964. (credit:Hulton Archive via Getty Images)
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Mary Tyler Moore as Laura Petrie in "The Dick Van Dyke Show" in 1964. (credit:CBS Photo Archive via Getty Images)
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Mary Tyler Moore in 1965. (credit:NBC via Getty Images)
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At the film premiere of 'Thoroughly Modern Millie'. Juliet Prowse, Beatrice Lille and Mary Tyler Moore in 1967. (credit:Mirrorpix via Getty Images)
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Mary Tyler Moore as Miss Dorothy Brown, Julie Andrews as Millie Dillmount, and Carol Channing in a promotional portrait for 'Thoroughly Modern Millie' in 1967. (credit:Silver Screen Collection via Getty Images)
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Mary Tyler Moore on March 23, 1967. (credit:New York Post Archives via Getty Images)
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Julie Andrews and Mary Tyler Moore in "Thoroughly Modern Millie" in 1967. (credit:Mondadori Portfolio via Getty Images)
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Mary Tyler Moore circa 1969. (credit:Archive Photos via Getty Images)
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Mary Tyler Moore on "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" in the 1970s. (credit:Bettmann via Getty Images)
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Mary Tyler Moore and Valerie Harper on the set of The Mary Tyler Moore Show in the 1970s. (credit:Bettmann via Getty Images)
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Mary Tyler Moore and Valerie Harper as Mary and Rhoda in the "Mary Tyler Moore Show" in the 1970s. (credit:Bettmann via Getty Images)
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Mary Tyler Moore in a scene from 'The Mary Tyler Moore Show' in 1970. (credit:CBS Photo Archive via Getty Images)
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Mary Tyler Moore in the 1970s. (credit:Ron Galella via Getty Images)
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Photo of Mary Tyler Moore circa 1970. (credit:Michael Ochs Archives via Getty Images)
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Mary Tyler Moore, circa 1970. (credit:Silver Screen Collection via Getty Images)
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Mary Tyler Moore on "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" in 1971 alongside Cloris Leachman. (credit:Bettmann via Getty Images)
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Mary Tyler Moore attends the Lion Country Safari, Inc. Press Conference on April 24, 1971 at the Lion Country Safari African Wildlife Preserve in Laguna Hills, California. (credit:Ron Galella via Getty Images)
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The Mary Tyler Moore Show: (From L- R) Valerie Harper as Rhoda Morgenstern, Mary Tyler Moore as Mary Richards & Cloris Leachman as Phyllis Lindstrom. Image dated September 2, 1971. (credit:CBS Photo Archive via Getty Images)
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Mary Tyler Moore (L) speaks to Valerie Harper behind an ironing board in a still from the TV series, 'The Mary Tyler Moore Show,' early 1970s. (credit:CBS Photo Archive via Getty Images)
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Mary Tyler Moore as Mary Richards on The Mary Tyler Moore Show. Image dated January 1, 1971. (credit:CBS Photo Archive via Getty Images)
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Dick Van Dyke cracks up on Mary Tyler Moore's shoulder as the two appear together for the first time on national television since the Dick Van Dyke Show left the air in 1965. They came together on the Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson March 21, 1979 to announce they would again play the 'Petrdes' from the old show during two skits on Mary's new show. (credit:Bettmann via Getty Images)
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With script in hand Mary Tyler Moore gets into the swing of things in first day of rehearsal here January 21, 1980 for her leading role in Whose Life Is It Anyway? (credit:Bettmann via Getty Images)
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Mary Tyler Moore attends the performance of 'Nine' on July 20, 1982 at the 46th Street Theater in New York City. (credit:Ron Galella via Getty Images)
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Mary Tyler Moore and boyfriend Dr. Robert Levine attend the 'Private Lives' Opening Night Performance on May 8, 1983 at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre in New York City. (credit:Ron Galella, Ltd. via Getty Images)
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Mary Tyler Moore and her husband Dr. Robert Levine in 1983. (credit:Time & Life Pictures via Getty Images)
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Mary Tyler Moore attends the 37th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards on September 22, 1985 at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium in Pasadena, California. (credit:Ron Galella via Getty Images)
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Mary Tyler Moore poses, dressed in a single-button orange jacket and a colorful print dress with a bubble skirt, at an unidentified event, 1987. (credit:David McGough via Getty Images)
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Mary Tyler Moore during 39th Annual Emmy Awards on September 20, 1987 at Pasadena Civic Auditorium in Pasadena, California, United States. (credit:Ron Galella via Getty Images)
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Mary Tyler Moore attends the Second Annual Wild West Hoedown to Benefit the Literacy Volunteers of New York City on November 26, 1990 at St. Vartan Cathedral in New York City. (credit:Ron Galella, Ltd. via Getty Images)
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Mary Tyler Moore attends the Museum of Television & Radio Celebrates the Announcement of Their New Building to Open in the Fall on April 11, 1991 at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City. (credit:Ron Galella via Getty Images)
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Mary Tyler Moore attends the New York Chapter Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International Presents the 20th Annual Promise Ball on November 14, 1992 at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City. (credit:Ron Galella, Ltd. via Getty Images)
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Mary Tyler Moore attends the Museum of Television & Radio Honors Mike Nichols and Elaine May on April 15, 1992 at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City. (credit:Ron Galella, Ltd. via Getty Images)
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Mary Tyler Moore attends the Seventh Annual Hill's Science Diet Winner's Circle Awards on February 5, 1993 at the New York Hilton Hotel in New York City. (credit:Ron Galella, Ltd. via Getty Images)
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Mary Tyler Moore attends the New York Women in Film & Television's 16th Annual Muse Awards on December 17, 1996 at the New York Hilton Hotel in New York City. (credit:Ron Galella, Ltd. via Getty Images)
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Mary Tyler Moore attends the 13th Annual Television Academy Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony on November 1, 1997 at the Leonard H. Goldenson Theatre, Academy of Television Arts & Sciences in North Hollywood, California. (credit:Ron Galella, Ltd. via Getty Images)
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Mary Tyler Moore attends the 50th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards on September 13, 1998 at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, California. (credit:Ron Galella, Ltd. via Getty Images)
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Mary Tyler Moore at the Academy of Television Arts and Science's 'Television Night at the Bowl' at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, California on August 26, 2001. (credit:Kevin Winter via Getty Images)
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Mary Tyler Moore attends the Fifth Annual ASPCA Bergh Ball on April 25, 2002 at The Plaza Hotel in New York City. (credit:Ron Galella, Ltd. via Getty Images)
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Mary Tyler Moore during Paramount Pictures Celebrates 90th Anniversary With 90 Stars for 90 Years at Paramount Pictures in July 2002 in Los Angeles, California. (credit:SGranitz via Getty Images)
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Mary Tyler Moore arrives at the 'CBS At 75' celebration at the Hammerstein Ballroom November 2, 2003 in New York City. (credit:Matthew Peyton via Getty Images)
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Mary Tyler Moore arrives at the 60th Primetime Emmy Awards held at Nokia Theatre on September 21, 2008 in Los Angeles, California. (credit:Frazer Harrison via Getty Images)
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Mary Tyler Moore coming out of the Late Show with David Letterman in NYC on March 24, 2009. (credit:Philip Ramey Photography, LLC via Getty Images)
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Mary Tyler Moore attends Betty White's 90th Birthday: 'A Tribute To America's Golden Girl' at the Millennium Biltmore Hotel on January 8, 2012 in Los Angeles, California. (credit:Jesse Grant via Getty Images)
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