Cattrallโ€™s favorite instance of saying โ€œno,โ€ as she explained in her speech atย Varietyโ€˜s Power of Women dinner presented by Lifetime, is one of her most famous quotes, โ€œI donโ€™t want to be in a situation where Iโ€™m not enjoying myself for even an hour.”

There are other times she has said โ€œno,โ€ most notably when asked to reprise her iconic role as Samantha Jones in various reboots of the โ€œSex and the Cityโ€ franchise. She recently elaborated on her decision to retire the role in aย cover interview withย Varietyย executive editor Ramin Setoodeh, in which she said that, after filming the second โ€œSATCโ€ movie, โ€œEverything in me went, โ€˜Iโ€™m done.’โ€

She mentioned other examples of taking satisfaction in saying no, including, โ€œNo, that salary is unacceptableโ€ and โ€œNo, we are not having a meeting in your hotel room.โ€

On Thursday evening, Cattrall encouraged other women to own their power in the same way, reminding the room of entertainment executives and fellow Power of Women honorees, โ€œSaying no to the past is saying yes to the future, because you are the screenwriter in the movie of your own life.โ€

Watch the full speech above.