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Kathy Bates, 76, first popped into the public consciousness in the 1980s as a stage actress in New York, winning an Obie award for _Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune_ in 1988.

Hollywood took notice, and she swiftly ascended to fame for her film work, winning an Oscar for best actress for playing Annie Wilkes in _Misery_. She had notable roles in such movies as

_Fried Green Tomatoes_ and _Dolores Claiborne_ and embraced TV as well, snagging Emmys for her work in _Two and a Half Men_ and later in several seasons of _American Horror Story_, a gig she

considers career-saving as work had started to dry up for her. Despite that, another slow career period ensued. Then, about six years ago, she embarked on a steady diet. Over time, she went

from 245 pounds to 145, and, she says, basically transformed her life and luck again. Now Bates stars in the new CBS series _Matlock _as Madeline Matlock, a once-retired attorney who

returns to the legal world and uses a benignly maternal manner to conceal the fact that she’s the smartest person in the room. She recently spoke to AARP for the October/November issue of

_AARP The Magazine__._ _This interview has been edited for length and clarity._ MAKE EVERY DAY A SUCCESS I grew up in Memphis with older parents — my father was born in 1900 — and I

lived a very sheltered life. And I remember my father asking me, because he was concerned that I wanted to play the guitar and sing and do all of these artistic things, “Aren’t you going to

make a success of yourself?” I was very young and said, “I just want to make every day a success. That’s as far as I can go.” HONOR YOUR PARENTS’ SACRIFICE I’ve struggled with the fact that

had I not been born, they would have had a happier retirement, instead of me being a millstone around their neck for 18 years. We had a hard time relating to each other, especially during

the ’60s, and my father had to keep working in order to send me to a rather expensive university. But if he hadn’t done that, I wouldn’t be talking to you. A PROFESSOR’S BEST ADVICE I knew I

could act when I was in high school. But when I decided to go to Southern Methodist University, I didn’t know what I was doing. At the orientation the speaker for the humanities school

literally said, “You’re in the wrong school. You’re supposed to be in the art school. Go down the hall. Here’s where you’re going to begin your life’s work.”