I always wanted to make my parents feel proud of me.

Acting with my parents was nerve-wracking. If they watch me act on the sets I feel nervous and blocked.

I feel like my grandparents and parents gave me a tremendous amount. And if I can pass some of that on, then I'll be very happy.

When I was younger, we went to Ibiza a lot because my parents bought an apartment there. I feel like that has always stuck with me.

I think my parents felt us being a minority a little bit more than I did, and they tried to shelter me from that so I didn't feel it at all.

For me, at least with my parents, I feel that they wanted me to have all the opportunities that they did not have, and for them, that meant going to private school.

I have a sense that many Americans, especially those like me with European or foreign parents, feel they have to invent their families just as they have to invent themselves.

I feel like coming from a film background does give me an advantage over others because access is the hardest part to overcome. The fact that I can meet a Karan Johar is something that is available to me because of my parents.

My parents made choices that would put me in environments where I would feel comfortable. And I'm really appreciative of that. They made sure we had some Latinos in our lives, even though there were none near the area I grew up in.

My parents were always supportive. They didn't say, 'Get a real job.' They believed in the arts, and they prepared me to be skilled. I'm lucky I can drop into these worlds - into a studio or onto a set or go on stage - and feel comfortable.

As comfortable as I was with my adoption, the nature-versus-nurture question has been a big one for me. I adore my parents, but I always wondered if I would feel a different kind of love-not more or less, just different-for someone who was biologically related.

My mother always wanted to play an instrument. Her parents never gave her that. Then it got to a point where I'd been playing for 18 years, and to give it up would make me feel guilty. But my parents also knew that realistically, I wasn't going to become a concert pianist.

Share This Page