I have actually been sporty right from my childhood. I was quite chubby in the first eight years of my life. But then I began playing volleyball in school. That did it. I lost all my baby fat and became slim.
I used to work in a maternity shop when I was at college. But I started baby-sitting in the evenings. I started then to professionally nanny full time, sole charge, when I was 18. I finished college, and then I didn't go on to do anything else. I started to professionally help families, and I chose not to go to training for professional nannies.
My brother became so enamored with that film [West Side Story], that he started taking tap-dancing lessons, and I followed him and started tap dancing, and my mother and father started tap dancing - I was in a class with my family, tap dancing!
I started dancing at the age of three in my hometown of Toledo, Ohio, and it really was my sister's dream to pursue dance professionally.
I had done quite a bit of stage when I was younger, local stuff, musicals. Then I started professionally, I suppose, when I was 11, in London, in the West End, which was already huge for me.
Mathematics was hard, dull work. Geography pleased me more. For dancing I was quite enthusiastic.
Mathematics was hard, dull work, I thought; geography pleased me more. For my other studies, as well as for dancing, I was quite enthusiastic.
At school, I had to work really hard to get a D in maths. And I wasn't slacking off; I actually did work quite hard.
To be honest, I've always had far too much freedom. I had a job when I was 10. I started living on my own when I was 17 or 18. I've earned my own money; I've traveled the world. What would I rebel against? I've had so much freedom, sometimes it was hard. My parents wanted to protect me, but they had no idea how to. I had to learn as I went and make my own mistakes. I went from being totally unknown and never acting professionally to being in a major movie and being very famous. It all happened so quickly, I didn't have any time to work things out. It's been pretty scary at times.
Anything worthwhile is hard, and dancing is very hard, and if you've ever studied dancing of any kind you'd know that to be in precision, three people dancing together.
A lot of girls that work really hard and have had long careers, and stay grounded. I love Carolyn Murphy, she is gorgeous. All the VS Angels! They work super hard and have the sweetest personalities.
I heard all the time I had the potential, just had to work hard. I listened and started working hard.
I love dancing and practiced ballet for ten years until I realized I wouldn't make it professionally - then I started taking salsa classes. I learned to dance samba in Rio and Salvador when I lived in Brazil.
By the time 1997 had rolled around, I had been in the music business for all my life, from the age of 15. I started recording professionally when I was 18. I had seen how record companies work, how the business works, and truth be told, I was pretty disgusted by everything by that time.
When I first started submitting my work professionally - and we're talking years and years ago - I had no patience for editorial response times. I hated waiting to hear back from people, hated waiting to see my work in print.
When I work, I work very hard. When I don't work, I have to do something where my endeavor can totally take me off what I do professionally, like sailing. It takes all your attention.