The challenge is always as a writer, is this going to work, because it's a very intimate process, and I tend to be very introverted and insular, and when I write, it's in my head.

My mum had a very strong moral code, which I kind of came with. I never really had to be told what was right or wrong - I knew. I was very mature from early on and I was a very good girl, so she never had any trouble with me.

My mom was definitely very strict with me.

I voted, always vote. It's very important to me. My kids, I take them with me since they were little, so they realize it's a responsibility.

There's no reason that just because you're a celebrity you can't write.

Being Latin parents makes us extremely expressive with our affections.

I'd love to have a program like 'Dr. Laura.' I studied psychology at the University of Miami, and when I rode the bus home from school, perfect strangers would strike up conversations with me and end up telling me their life stories. I think they could sense that I was studying to help people. That, or I have a face like a priest.