I moved in with a roommate who told me, 'Stay with me until you can afford rent. Don't give up.' People who supported me were like, 'If you don't have money for food, I'll cook you dinner. You don't have money for acting class? Let's get together and read lines.'
I have been able to help my friends and people that I believe in pay their bills and stay afloat in L.A. while following their dreams.
My father is a big guy; he's had a quadruple bypass surgery, and that's scary. Those are real things that happen in families with overweight people, and I don't want that.
Most of my stuff comes from Eloquii, Torrid, Lane Bryant - even Target!
I wanted to entertain and make people laugh. I think it really hit in third grade, but once I was in high school, I joined chamber choir. I wanted to do musical theater, too, but they had rehearsals at the same time. That was a bit of 'Sophie's Choice.'
It's impossible to accept love from anyone else if you don't love yourself. It's a big issue, particularly for us plus-size ladies and for anyone dealing with weight, because we're not taught to love ourselves or be our own cheerleaders.
When I turned 30, I had this epiphany that my life is my own and my choices are my own.
Size doesn't equate to beauty. I don't understand why that's a thing. Well, I do, because the media has told us thin is beautiful. But is it?
You can't be hateful because you love yourself. And we're extensions of each other; we're all connected.
If I find a cute skirt, I'm not fixated on a brand.
Our weights fluctuate: Some people gain or lose, even friends who are average size. If I would say 'I'm fat,' my friends would say, 'Don't say that!' And I'd think, 'Are you offended, you can't handle the word? Or do you think I am embarrassed?'
Why not have a motivation beyond me to get to a healthy weight? Every actor does that. We're chameleons. We change; we grow as an actor. You lose weight, you gain weight, you change your hair or whatever.
I was born in Homestead, Florida.
It's very strange. I can't go anywhere without somebody stopping me, which is so cool that I get to connect to people that I never might've ever spoken to, or they have an impetus to speak to me. It's created a career that I wasn't sure if I'd ever really have.
I wanted to be the female Jim Carrey.
There are plus-size women who've paved the way - Rebel Wilson, Gabby Sidibe, Melissa McCarthy. I can't wait for the day when I can have a conversation, and it's not about the size of my pants but how I prepared for the role.
Being a plus-size actress, it is slim pickings, so anytime any role comes up for a plus-size actress, my agents are all over it, and they were like, 'You have to book this job. It's 'American Horror Story.' It's a big deal.' No pressure, right?
I kept auditioning, with no savings and no money, credit card debt gaining interest. I went on unemployment. I bought ramen noodles at dollar stores. I never had to - God forbid - live on the streets.
I started coming into my own at 30, discovering what's important to me, not caring what other people think.
My parents divorced when I was eight; I never really knew my dad, and my mom raised my older sister and brother and me alone. It was challenging.
