You are an important person just the way you are. — Fred Rogers · Smartyfair

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You are an important person just the way you are. — Fred Rogers · Smartyfair

You are an important person just the way you are.

Fred Rogers1928–2003 · television host · 1900s-2000s USAFred Rogers was an American television host who created and starred in Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, a beloved children's show that ran for over 30 years.12 quotes

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In plain words

You matter exactly as you already are.

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Where these words come from

How sure this is: 55% sureLots of sources credit Fred Rogers with this, and they agree with each other. The book or the speech it first came from hasn't turned up yet.
What turned up: Widely reported as Fred Rogers' 1979 congressional/court testimony in the Sony Betamax case; the Supreme Court's 1984 opinion (464 U.S. 417) paraphrases his testimony but does not contain this exact sentence — wording traces only to secondary retellings, no primary transcript located.
Sources checked: mentalfloss.comChecked using claude-sonnet-5, 20 August 2026direct quote confirmed from his testimony

Nothing made from these words yet — Storyfaire is where they get made.

More from Fred Rogers

I give an expression of care every day to each child to help him realize that he is unique.

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J.R.R. Tolkien

'Know thyself' was written over the portal of the antique world. Over the portal of the new world, 'Be thyself' shall be written.

We will walk on our own feet; we will work with our own hands; we will speak our own minds.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

The imitator dooms himself to hopeless mediocrity.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Always be a first-rate version of yourself, instead of a second-rate version of somebody else.