Sela Ward appeared on "Good Morning America," Monday, October 9, 2000 to promote the new season of "Once and Again." The following is a transcript of that interview from Burrelle's Information Services :

EMMY AWARD-WINNING ACTRESS SELA WARD TALKS ABOUT HER LIFE, SUCCESSES, AND HER SHOW "ONCE AND AGAIN"

JACK FORD, co-host:

Sela Ward -- someone once called her the Ava Gardner of the '90s, and now in the year 2000, she's just picked up her second Emmy award. It was for her genuine and sensitive performances in the ABC series "Once and Again."

(Clip from " Once and Again" )

FORD: And Sela Ward joins us this morning. Nice to see you again. How are you?

Ms. SELA WARD ("Once and Again" ): It's good to see you. Thank you.

FORD: An early start for your day here.

Ms. WARD: Oh, it's early. I was watching that. You know, we -- we're now in our-- filming our ninth episode, I think for the season, and I'm going, "God, that was so long ago."

FORD: That's what happens in serial television.

Ms. WARD: Yeah, it goes fast, doesn't it?

FORD: I want to talk a little bit about the series in just a moment, but I've got to ask you something that I had seen, which I think a lot of people are going to find very curious. We talked about the fact that people have called you the Ava Gardner of the '90s. You received two Emmy awards, People magazine put you in their 50 most beautiful people, you've had enormous success over the years. Three years ago, you go for an audition for a--a Bond girl -- we're seeing now the -- a bite here of you collecting that second Emmy award that took place just a--a couple of weeks ago. The first one you got for "Sisters," the second one for "Once and Again."

Ms. WARD: Yeah.

FORD: So you go for an audition three years ago for a Bond girl, and apparently the director says, 'Here's what I want, I want Sela Ward 10 years ago.'

Ms. WARD: Yeah.

FORD: And they give it to somebody else.

Ms. WARD: Yeah.

FORD: What did you think when you heard that?

Ms. WARD: Ouch! It really hurt. You know, it...

FORD: Did it surprise you that with--with your resume and your success, that somebody would still say that?

Ms. WARD: Well, you know, I--Hollywood and--and our culture in general is very youth-obsessed, as you know, and the irony for me, though, was that just when I felt like I'd become a very interesting person because of a life--the--the amount of life I had lived, they're telling you you're washed up, you know, at--after 35. So it was--it was a real slap in the face, but it did--it really did me a great favor, because I--I had to go, 'OK, now what do I do? If I'm not going to--if I'm not going to have a career in terms of being a leading lady, if I'm not commercially viable any longer, close to 40, then maybe I need to produce,' and so I produced a documentary, or...

FORD: A documentary about...

Ms. WARD: About--exactly, it was my own cathartic way of dealing with--with my midlife crisis.

FORD: ...about agism in Hollywood. You--you are very open and candid about your age. You say, "I'm 43 years old, I'm--I'm successful." You--your words--you said, "I feel yummier than ever"--you--your words.

Ms. WARD: Right.

FORD: Although I think people would certainly agree with you about that assessment. But why, then, given this situation that you had three years ago, are you comfortable saying right now, 'You know what, I'm better than ever'?

Ms. WARD: Because I--I do feel that way. I--I--I think that when you've really lived enough life to have experiences to draw from, and particularly for an actor, then you have richer performances. As a woman, I feel much more confident and centered and I have--I've completed my family, I have my children, and I--I just--I do, I feel better than I ever have. I think your--for me, my 20s and even--even a good part of my 30s were still sort of finding my way, and--and owning myself as a woman, and coming into adulthood, if you will.

FORD: Are you an exception in Hollywood, then, being--being able to say to yourself, 'I'm comfortable and delighted with who I am and how old I am'? Do you think?

Ms. WARD: I--I would say I--I am an exception, because so many women are so afraid to say how old they are. I'm actually 44...

FORD: Oh, my goodness...

Ms. WARD: ...and I--I...

FORD: ...I thought you were just a kid of 43.

Ms. WARD: Yeah, at 43, I was really young. But I'm--I'm not--I think it's really important to own your age, because that's living authentically, to--to really--I mean, it's like no one notices that you're getting older. And I'm...

FORD: Surprise, it's happening.

Ms. WARD: Yeah, I'm--I feel terrific.

FORD: Let's talk a little bit about the series, "Once and Again," kicking off its--its second season. I think we have a quick clip we can show here, and then I want to talk about it coming out of that. Let's take a look at this.

Ms. WARD: OK.

(Clip from " Once and Again" )

FORD: Oops! Busted, huh?

Ms. WARD: Yeah, I think I'm a frustrated Lucille Ball. A wannabe Lucille Ball.

FORD: There is a little--there is that kind of comedy in here.

Ms. WARD: Oh, I love it. I have so much fun with it.

FORD: Are you having fun doing the second season?

Ms. WARD: I'm having a great time. The writing is so--is so brilliant.

FORD: Yeah.

Ms. WARD: It's a beautiful show.

FORD: Last question I want to ask you, and we just have a couple of seconds left. You spend a lot of time back home in Meridian, Mississippi. You have a farm there. You feel like it's a place to literally get back to your roots, and you also started a foundation down there called Hope for Children. Tell us what you're trying to do.

Ms. WARD: I did. They're--I wanted to start a permanent shelter--permanent home for children. It doesn't exist for--in a very large radius around my hometown. And Kentucky Fried Chicken was kind enough to give a grant to allow us to buy the property, and we're going to open our doors to children in March. It's one of the most fulfilling things I've ever done.

FORD: Well, that's great. Good luck with it.

Ms. WARD: Thank you.

FORD: You're living proof that you sometimes in life can have everything. Sela Ward, always a pleasure.

Ms. WARD: Thank you.

FORD: Nice seeing you again.

Ms. WARD: I enjoyed it.

FORD: Reminder again, "Once and Again" kicks off its second season on Tuesday, October 24, 10 Eastern on ABC.