When I came home after 'DWTS,' I had a couple of days, and I had actually given the Mirrorball to my mom. She loves to decorate the house, so I said, 'Here - make it pretty. Do what you want with it!
That strong mother doesn't tell her cub, Son, stay weak so the wolves can get you. She says, Toughen up, this is reality we are living in.
What took time for my mom was getting the pronouns right and calling me by a different name. Laverne was my middle name before I transitioned.
I want to be on stage and perform and win Grammys and help out my family in Bulgaria, because they are struggling, and my mom and dad, too.
I just love food, especially my mom's Bulgarian cooking. Taco Bell is my favorite fast food restaurant. I also love Italian food.
I want to make my music and be a happy woman, a good wife, a good mom and one day hopefully have a child of my own.
I hear my friends and my mom tell me I'm special, but honestly, I still don't get it.
My mom and I have always been there for each other. We had some tough times, but she was always there for me.
My dad was a cop. My mom worked at various jobs - she worked as a homemaker, a bank teller, a bartender.
My mom grew up without a father because he died in the Korean War. And my grandmother, her life was completely upended because of that.
I look up to my mom. She's a beautiful woman.
I'm mixed race - my dad's Caucasian, and my mom's Mexican - so I want to play anything and everything, from American to Latino, the whole spectrum; I'm insatiable.
My parents know I was outgoing as a child, and whenever people came over, I'd automatically do impressions of them as soon as they left; it was my mom's favorite thing. Yes, I grew up in Hollywood, but not in any rich neighborhood.
My love of performing goes way back. My mom got me on 'Romper Room' when I was five - it was my favorite show. But they couldn't control me. I would run up and smack the camera, and I'd jump around and do my little flips and routines. I wish I could get that tape now.
I feel like I've lived quite a sheltered life, like my mom and dad were quite protective of me.
In all honesty, at that time, I never saw myself as an author... I was just a Mom in a state of panic, trying to enter a short story contest to win the prize money in order to keep the lights on in my home.
My dad died when I was three so my mom had to raise four kids on her own, and I think there's a part of me that pulls upon having watched my mom do that our whole lives. She had to make it work.
My dad was always in sales. My mom had a heart for the ages. Worked in recreation, doing rehabilitation in nursing homes. Very nice, practical folks who were very proud of me but had no inclination toward the stage in any way.
Dad and mom would have preferred that I be a doctor, a lawyer, a scientist, or a great humanitarian.
I've been performing my whole life. My mom signed me up for a theater program when I was five - I was the evil queen in 'Once Upon a Mattress.'
When I was a baby, I wore my mom's Chanel pumps - to be able to say that I work with Karl Lagerfeld is a dream come true.
My mom gave me a Chanel dress when I was younger. I felt special. I think anybody feels special in Chanel.
My mom is such a strong, independent, strong-willed woman, and she always taught me to accept my worth for how I viewed myself and female empowerment, and it's okay to be independent and also need someone at the same time. I kinda get to be both.
I was 17 and out of school, living with my mom, starving, not eating, getting locked up, no focus, no guidance. When you ain't got no guidance, you can't do too much. But then I had my first son and started working. I got the right people around me.
In Atlanta, my mom came and came downstairs and we were talking like behind the crowd. People from the crowd saw me and started running towards me, asking for pictures and stuff. This girl asked for a picture, and after she got it, she passed out.
I didn't even walk for graduation - I did graduate, though. I got this homeschool deal. I didn't have to go to school because I was depressed, and my mom wrote all these essays for me. I didn't write one of them. She literally got me my diploma.
My mom has been calling me Peep my whole life. That's how I got the name.
I got people to take care of: my mom, my dad, my grandma, my aunties.
I played with dolls until I was 15. My mother encouraged it because my older sister got married when she was 15, so Mom thought that the longer I stayed with dolls, the better.
I've never once heard my mom complain about her stroke.
I was a mama's girl. So when I had to go to Korea without mom, I felt that I had to take care of myself now. I was 14, such a kid. I didn't speak any Korean. I only knew how to say 'hello,' so it really was a new start.
In May 2006, I had our son, Calder. I spent the next couple of years learning how to be a mom.
I'm proud of what I look like. I'm proud that I look like my mom.
I don't think I would have been able to stick with it and been proud of who I am and be feminine out on the court. I think I would have folded to the peer pressure if I didn't have my mom to encourage me to be me and be proud of how tall I am.
The most inspiring piece of advice I've gotten is simply to persevere. My mom taught me to always keep going no matter what from an early age. When it feels too difficult to push forward, I always remind myself, 'This too shall pass,' and then I redouble my efforts.
I'm really happy to be a mom, and I'm proud of the phase I'm in.
My mom started smoking when she was 11. She went to the hill next door to try her first cigarette. She set the entire hill on fire, but it didn't deter her.
My dad is a civil engineer, and my mom is a stay-at-home mom. The fact that my parents weren't really involved in music was kind of good, because it meant that I had something that was private and personal.
Mommy smoked but she didn't want us to. She saw smoke coming out of the barn one time, so we got whipped.
What do girls do who haven't any mothers to help them through their troubles?
My mom definitely inspires me. She's just crazy when it comes to her fashion sense.
My mom's a chemist, so she's pretty smart.
I was torn between the Americanness my mom wanted for me and the Mexicanness my father wanted - they were wrestling for cultural influence over me.
My dad was a professional basketball player, and my mom was a hell of a tennis player.
My mom had an audition for a commercial when I was about two and a half, and I ran in crying and interrupted her. They thought I was cute so they offered me a commercial role. My mom was skeptical and a bit nervous about the child actor thing, but I was extremely bossy and convinced them I wanted to try it.
I got blessed from my mom. She's the personality; she's the one who smiled, so I took on part of her, and who also wanted to help and save the world. Then I took on part of my dad, who is tough.
My mom has always been my support system. She taught me to never give up and to keep pursuing my passions no matter what.
My real name is Amanda Rose Saccomanno, so a lot of people don't know that, but Rose is kind of special in my family as my grandma's name is Rosemary, my mom's name is Mary Rose, I'm Amanda Rose, my niece is Demi Rose.
With my mom and dad around, I became a child yet again.
My aunt and uncle would come over when my mom was making this, or we would go over there when they were making that. That's what food is.