I was really lucky to have been raised in this really powerful matriarchy where my dad was around, but I was with my mom and my grandma most of the time. They were heavy influences on me. My mother has a career in technology; my grandma sold real estate.
I come from really strong women. My mum is really strong, so that's driven that into me, and my grandma was the strongest woman I've known in my life.
My mom. My grandma, my grandfather. We have a very strong, strong line of amazing people in the family. Very strong women.
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'm always drawn to strong female leads, so that's what drew me to 'Lost Girl.' I was a 'Buffy' fan and watched it with friends every week. I was also a big fan of 'Alias' when that was on - they both had strong female leads, and that's what draws me in the most.
She was really strong around me. Having me at 16 had to have been a big responsibility. My mom gave up everything for me, had three jobs, supported me, sacrificed her life for me.
Growing up in Miami, I had all these great, strong influences. You know, being Cuban and the Latin influence, but also the strong hip-hop influence.
Growing up in Miami, I had all these great, strong influences. Being Cuban and the Latin influence, but also the strong hip-hop influence. I know that people everywhere listen to hip-hop, but especially being from the South, you really get that influence. You go out, you party, and it's just always there.
Being a mom myself and it being a huge and important part of who I am, made it easier for me to play the role of a strong, fierce, giving mom...
My parents both worked - my mom was an accountant, and my dad is a builder - and that taught me about having a really strong work ethic, and I respected them a lot for that.
I am a big fan of Independiente and I played in their youth systems before being released for being too small, so I went to work with my father as a builder. This helped me understand a lot of things about life; it made me mentally very strong and it also pushed me to go and play for another team.
I noticed in the past, a lot of guys who like strong women, they really freak out if you're not strong 24/7. Or they complain about you being strong, then the moment you're not strong, they're like, 'Oh, no, no, no.'
Throughout my career, I've always portrayed characters that were humorous, but also weren't afraid to speak their minds, especially when it came to racy or controversial topics. I think this struck a chord with the LGBT community. We both also share a very strong love for animals. When you combine the two, it's a very strong match.
There is always a dream, for me, in the locker room before matches as well during the day. If you have a strong mind, a strong tendency to keep you strong, I think your dream is coming.
I grew up in a family of strong women and I owe any capacity I have to understand women to my mother and big sister. They taught me to respect women in a way where I've always felt a strong emotional connection to women, which has also helped me in the way I approach my work as an actor.
Being the ideal of a strong woman means utilizing all the things that God gives you. People are always saying to me, 'You're a strong female, so why are you wearing a bikini on the cover of that magazine?' Being a strong woman is misconstrued to be something evil and ugly.