I went to some sports camps when I was really young and hated it. So I changed and went to camps where I could dance all morning and act all afternoon.
I was on 'Murder She Wrote' with Angela Lansbury. She was fantastic... she was lovely to everyone, she was always on time, prepared. Whereas when I worked with Bob Hope, he didn't know his lines. He had to have these huge big cards... he hardly said two words to me all day.
I have never been afraid to go a bit out there with what I am wearing on film. I tend to be a bit more conservative in real life, with mountains of black in my closet.
He wasn't really Method but he believed that when you did a role there were lots of things you could do with your co-star in order to create the right environment. You known, if you were supposed to be in love, to create that feeling between the two of you.
For the pageants, it was my mother who got me involved in Miss America. It really gave me the opportunity to sing all around New Hampshire. And it was great when I was young, but looking back, it was also unbelievably stressful.
And that might have led to other shows but you know what LA is like. I was in my early 30s and it wasn't going to get easier. You know, that's when you start to wonder if you might have to get lots of plastic surgery.
Acting was truly all that I ever wanted to do. I've always acted in plays and sang and played music, and you get to a certain age and think there's nothing else that you'd rather do.
I think I started out just loving the attention. But that's changed into a real love and passion for my profession. Acting has never lost that challenge and excitement for me.
Children are my pet cause. I have a foster child in El Salvador, and whenever I'm home, I work for the Adam Walsh Foundation, which finds missing children. I also do some hospital visits and other things for the Make-a-Wish Foundation.
