My mum had me when she was just 18 and she worked three jobs, including bar tending, to put food on the table and she also went to night college. She worked really hard for us and I kept myself busy with football.
My mother raised three girls, really, pretty much on her own, and she didn't have time for play or conversation or whatever. She had to take care of a house, a business, and three kids.
I was born 20 years after my eldest sister. I was the pampered child. That kind of love gives you an almost unbreakable backbone. My mother had three kids before me. She let me be completely free. I just never had anything to beat myself up over.
When I was eight, my mum found me humming to myself and scribbling on a scrap of paper. When she asked me what I was doing, I got shy. I was writing a Christmas song, and I had never shared my music with anyone before. Reluctantly, I sang it for her... and she loved it. Of course she did - she's my mum.
I was something of a surprise to my parents. My mum, Margaret, was 42 when she had me and had been told she couldn't have children. So when she went to the doctors, they thought she had an ovarian cyst. And it was me!
I grew up with a single mum, an immigrant mum who couldn't speak the language, no money, three kids on her back, coming from Rwanda, and she's done a sterling job with all three of us.
I met Drew Barrymore, and she was so cool. She told me, 'I know I just had my baby three weeks ago, and that's why I'm emotional, but I cried when you performed.' And then she pulled out a tissue and said, 'Look, I was sobbing.'
There are thin girls with infertility issues, normal sized girls with infertility issues and overweight girls with infertility issues. Unless your doctor tells you your weight is affecting you in some way... once the doctor rules it out, that's really not it.
I didn't see my mum Julia for a few years - she was very young when she married my dad and had me, and when they parted I lived with my dad and my other 'mum,' his wife Diane.
My mum will always come and see my shows if she can, and if she can't, she'll text or email just before wishing me a great show and telling me how much she loves me. She still gives tonnes of positive reinforcement and love. It's really remarkable what that does for a child, and it's really remarkable what that does for me as an adult.
Yes, my mum had a huge influence on my life and the love she had for me, the love we had between each other, did sway me to not do bad things. Sometimes they say the street raised you, but my mum did the raising.
I did The 'Acid Test' at the Royal Court, by Anya Reiss, who's the most wonderful, amazing female writer. She was only 19 when she wrote it. She wrote it about three girls in a flat on a Friday night, and that was magic because it was so rare to have three girls in your age group in a play. It just doesn't happen.
I had a very complex childhood, and when I met my wife, because she has a master's in psychology, she promoted me into getting help. It really has helped. I'm not healed yet, but I'm working on some issues I had as a child.
Mum’s a musician. She plays piano and has a beautiful voice, so she understands the creative need. Mum lights up when she sees me. Her cheeks go pink – she’s all over me, pulling my hair, pinching my cheeks.
I first realized I wanted to model when my mum and I were at a local carnival, and she took me to a fashion show. I had never been to one before, and when I saw the girls on the catwalk, I fell in love with them.
Like the guy I was dating. White, liberal, educated. I went to meet his family and I think that they probably didn't know they had a problem with it until he walked in with me. And they definitely had issues. Mom had issues with it. Could not, didn't want to see her son. And I don't think she had anything against me. But it was about her son bringing me home. And I felt that for the first time. I was like, 'Wow, that's deep.' It's really simple: I don't fit their picture.