[Director] Peter Wallerstein does great work rescuing sea life along the shores of LA, and I helped raise money for sanctuaries such as Chimp Haven, who are now taking in over two hundred medical lab chimps released from government-funded medical testing labs.

Being surrounded by nature and animals always kept me grounded and happy.

I'm not sure what gave me empathy for animals, but I do know that I have always loved animals since I was a very young child. I always felt a need to nurture and protect them. Perhaps I could see they needed that, and caring for them made me happy.

I try to support any and all animal causes or organizations out there if they are good and reputable. Sadly, there are a lot of people and organizations that raise money but don't do much or don't have good intentions. I've worked with organizations such as Marine Animal Rescue in Southern California.

My main message to folks who love animals is that you can do something every day to help them.

Spreading the word about real issues is still helping. Just being conscious of helping animals every day will help guide you to make beneficial decisions for animals.

I grew up in beautiful Carmel, California, and I have extremely sweet parents that always loved nature and animals. They instilled such an appreciation for beauty and kindness that it was inherent.