Who are my “best friends”? I have a lot of close pals and this made me wonder – where did they come from? Funny, how some people just click and you become part of each other’s journey.

There are the friends I’ve met through my work. These bonds aren’t only rich creatively, but they’ve been forged through some pretty heavy times – whether it’s the rehearsal and opening of a show, or battles with a network, or staying up all night to fix a script. These friendships have stood the test of pressure – they’re the people you can trust when you’re really under fire. You’re in the trenches and you suddenly look around and find each other. And you quickly discover that this is someone you can count on.

Then there are ex-boyfriends. Some of my women friends would never even think of being friends with an ex-lover, an ex-boyfriend, or an ex-husband. But for me, this is a person I told my secrets to, someone who knows me better than most people, someone I gave a lot of time and love to. What’s cozier than that?

And there are best friends you meet through marriage. Not all of them are wonderful, God knows; but it’s so exciting to discover that one of your husband’s best pals is married to a woman who’s just dynamite. It’s like getting a great in-law, and it’s a fabulous surprise.

But the best “best friends” are the ones from my childhood days. I’m still close friends with a few, male and female, who I’ve know since I was seven or eight. We grew up together in Beverly Hills. We knew each other’s parents. We’ve seen each other through every phase of our lives – from our school days to puberty, from our first kiss to our first job, through weddings and funerals, births and deaths, triumphs and disasters. I love these friends the best because we’ve made each other’s lives our own lives. The trust runs deep.