My dad was in the life insurance business, so I learned about selling when I was about 14 because I started working as a secretary.
It is a gift to be a teenager, and I see a dad's job as lifeguard, not chaperone.
It was the late '70s when my parents met. My dad was a lighting director for a soap opera, and my mom was a temp at the studio. They moved into a house in The Valley in L.A., to a neighborhood that was leafy and affordable.
When I was a kid, I wanted to walk with my dad's limp - my dad was my hero - but that infuriated him, and he would make me walk back and forth in the living room until I walked without it.
My dad is a little bit of a softy. I mean, he, like, cries at 'The Lion King,' and I'm kind of, like, his little girl.
My dad's a professor of medicine; my mum was a nurse. My little sister is going into healthcare. My older sister is a nurse; my brother's in finance - I'm the runt of the litter.
To be able to have winning in your blood growing up, whether it was pounding my little brother or trying to beat my dad in something, or just competing on teams with my friends, it was nonstop.
My dad is the reason I actually started watching wrestling. My dad was never big into sports; we were all big into sports as kids, and he'd go to our Little League games or whatever and not really know what was going on, because he didn't know about sports, but he knew about wrestling.
My dad is my dad, but he's not there physically anymore. But she lets me call her 'Dad' - that's the last little piece of Dad I've got.
The only dream I have in my life is to be a little piece of my dad, because he was really happy.
I've traveled all over. I've been to all 50 states. With my dad in the Navy, I lived in the Philippines from nine to 12, and I had dog, monkey, lizard, everything. Then I was in Hawaii, and I'm spear-fishing, catching octopus with my hands.
Red Lobster reminds me of my dad because he would always get coupons and be like, 'We're going to treat ourselves.'
I grew up watching my dad scout games live. They played on Saturday. Sometimes they wouldn't get the films until Monday. Sunday air shipping from wherever the college team was located - Starkville, Mississippi, or wherever the film was coming from. It took two days.
You see people with a room full of their career achievements. Brilliant. Well done. That's just not something I do. They're in a bin bag in my mum and dad's loft.
Having watched 'The Lone Ranger,' I asked my dad, 'You think we can be on TV like that guy?' He said, 'Probably not. You have to be 6 feet and blond to work in TV and movies.' I said, 'But what about that guy? Jay Silverheels?'
My mom is from Venezuela, and my dad is German and Japanese, and we lived in Brazil when I was a kid for a couple of years, and then I grew up on Long Island. I think all the traveling and all the nationalities put that stuff in my head. I was just around it a lot.
When two people break up, it's all about them; they can't see anyone else. And the people getting smashed to bits are the kids. Then you're getting torn - your mum wants you, your dad wants you. You just get shredded. It has a long-lasting effect as well.
Looking back, I think I was always musical. My dad was very musical, and I think my mom was musical.
I remember my dad came from Ireland and Scotland, and so he carried with him the fear of poverty. So when I wanted to break loose, it kind of made him very nervous.
I forgive my mom for being a psycho and my dad for being a loser.
