PartyLines- photographs by Patrick McMullan

Good Housekeeping is celebrating women of achievement tonight. What haven’t you achieved yet? “I would love to learn how to change a tire, a flat tire. And also check oil. Because there are times in a woman’s life where Triple A is not going to come fast enough, and you have on an outfit that is not appropriate standing on the side of the street waiting for roadside assistance, if you know what I mean.” —Wendy Williams

—Jessica Simpson

Do you ever do any of your own housekeeping? “Oh yeah. We love to cook. I mean, do I iron? No! [Laughs.] I actually washed a jacket a couple of days ago; I was very proud of myself. I know how to turn a washing machine on.” —Cathie Black, President of Hearst Magazines

—Brooke Shields

You introduced Meryl Streep tonight. What was it like watching her play you in the movie Heartburn? “I happen to be one of several real people that Meryl Streep has portrayed, and it was very daunting for me to realize that Meryl was better at being me than I was. And my guess is that Susan B. Anthony would feel the same way if she was still with us.” —Nora Ephron

—Meryl Streep

—Kristen Bell

Is there anything you’d still like to accomplish? “Oh, there’s millions of things! That’s why I’m not retired and never will.” Is there one thing in particular? “That I have to do? Go to Tasmania.” —Martha Stewart

—Hilary Duff

Good Housekeeping is celebrating its anniversary. “Good Housekeeping is almost as old as I am.” They’re 125. “Well, I’m pushing that. I constantly refer to myself as the 2,000-year-old gossip columnist.” —Liz Smith

—Michelle Trachtenberg

—Rosemary Ellis, ‘Good Housekeeping’ Editor-in-Chief

Do you actually do any of your own housekeeping? “I do. I do the laundry; I clean our house; I do the dishes. This is a question you should be asking my husband, because I know what his answer would be.” Does he do any of it? “No. He doesn’t know what the dishwasher is.” —Laura Benanti, with husband Stephen Pasquale

—Congresswoman Caroline Maloney

Is there anything that men can do better than women? “The G-rated version? Basketball and football, because they’re bigger and stronger. You can be the best female basketball player in the world, you’re not going to beat Michael Jordan. It’s not like we’re playing that silly tennis match in the seventies. Guys are just better at sports.” —Lisa Oz

—Sarah Jones

Is there anything that men can still do better than women? “Guys have one thing women need: testosterone. Women too often understand everything, but they don’t change the world. And so if we can get a little bit more edge into what women are doing as they think about changing the world, I think it helps us all.” —Dr. Mehmet Oz

—Cheryl Tiegs

—Candice Bergen

Have you ever had a bad experience with the IRS? “You know, I don’t think so. I better not talk about it though, because it hasn’t happened, and I bet if I go up the river, you wouldn’t even visit me.” —Phil Donahue

—Marlo Thomas

—Gayle King

Do you actually do any of your own housekeeping? “I do. I’m a little OCD; I like neatness and cleanliness. Right now, my life is a little disorganized with travel and everything. I don’t like to do toilets and floors, but I like to clean and dust and iron and windows and sweeping.” —Dorothy Hamill

—Jane Alexander

—Marlee Matlin

Do you actually do any of your own housekeeping? “Oh my God, all the time. All the time. Do you have somebody who wants to come do it for me? Let me know, because they can come tonight!” —Anika Noni Rose