Growing up, I didn't think it would be possible to be an actress - I didn't see a lot of Latina faces on TV or in movies. But that didn't stop me from trying. I realized early that anything I really wanted was worth working for.

I really needed a show like 'Jane' when I was growing up, so being able to portray a positive Latina character means a lot to me because I feel like it's helping me to contribute to someone's dreams.

My mom struggled for a long time growing up poor, and then we were on welfare when I was a kid. So to see her kids, not just me, be successful and making money and happy and healthy and in good relationships - it means so much to her after all that she's been through.

Acting was always a secret desire of mine when I was growing up.

For me, what I try to heal is the major thing that I think all of us go through, where we came from. From our family of origin.

Early on, my family really made me love who I was and what I looked like.

I've seen my family watch TV every day, and they develop a liking for various characters more and more with time. So, I think TV does bring a celeb closer to his fans. I feel I have come closer to people without losing my raw appeal.

My son was about five or six months old, and he was ill, and I was sent to New York to interview three people back to back. I got home, and I saw my baby. He had been very ill, and he was on three kinds of antibiotics. I'd been away for eight days. I looked at him and thought, 'What am I doing? I'm a terrible mother and a terrible journalist.'