My parents were working class folks. My dad was a bartender for most of his life my mom was a maid and a cashier and a stock clerk at WalMart. We were not people of financial means in terms of significant financial means. I always told them 'I didn't always have what I wanted. I always had what I needed.' My parents always provided that.

I wanted to be a skinny little ballerina but I was a voluptuous little Italian girl whose dad had meatballs on the table every night.

I always wanted what Mom and Dad had.

My dad was like a stage mother he always pushed me to do what I wanted.

I would never have done what I'd done if I'd considered my father as somebody I wanted to please.

I wanted to take up music so my father bought me a blunt instrument. He told me to knock myself out.

There's sometimes a weird benefit to having an alcoholic violent father. He really motivated me in that I never wanted to be anything like him.

Well number one I like dancing. Number two I knew it would be challenging because I had never done this type of dance before. I always wanted to and I happened to have the courage to go out there and give it my best shot.

I went through a long period where I was afraid of doing things I wanted to do and you get your courage back which is what's important.

Definitely River Phoenix is somebody that I thought 'This guy is very cool.' I wanted to be like him when I was a kid.