Quotes from Annette Funicello

In 1993 my birthday present was a star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame.

In the United States women develop MS at approximately twice the rate men do, and no one can explain why women are affected most often from the waist down

Watching television in those days was not the same experience as it is today. After years of listening to radio, we found the black-and-white images mesmerizing.

I always considered myself a dancer before anything else.

Of the many guests we welcomed to the Mickey Mouse Club, my absolute favorites were the Lennon Sisters.

I still don't know precisely why The Mickey Mouse Club ended when it did.

To some, the '50s were a decade marked by the banal, the predictable.

Just learning that you have MS is such a devastating shock.

When you are young and healthy, it never occurs to you that in a single second your whole life could change.

For me, the wheelchair symbolizes disability in a way a cane does not.

Mr. Disney believed everyone was still a child deep inside.

The Lord has been with me throughout my life. He's never let me down.

Of all the roles I've played, none has been as fulfilling as being a mother.

When you are young and healthy, it never occurs to you that in a single second your whole life could change.

Whatever dreams I have wished have come true.

I have always thought of Walt Disney as my second father.

As I travel across the country speaking about MS, perhaps I can offer others comfort and hope.

The mere thought of divorce terrified me. To me, divorce symbolized failure.

In 1993 my birthday present was a star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame.

Just learning that you have MS is such a devastating shock.

MS is not really a degenerative illness. It is not fatal, nor is it always progressive.

Whatever ambivalence I felt about my own career, Frankie more than made up for it with his ambition and tenacity.

The mere thought of divorce terrified me. To me, divorce symbolized failure.

Pain is a part of life...misery is an option.