Hugh Jackman is just the nicest person in the world. I know everybody says that, and it's almost boring to hear, but he is really, really perfect.

I remember when I was little, much younger than I was when I started modeling, people always said, 'Oh, you should be a model.' But I didn't like people telling me what to do... But I didn't plan to transform into an actress, either. It just happened.

I started modeling with a very negative part of me - I didn't really like myself or how I looked because I was very tall for a Japanese girl.

I was living in Paris for, like, a year and a half, and I couldn't speak French, so it was just hard to get a baguette or a pastry or whatever. All the stores close at 6 o'clock, and they're not very into hospitality, so it's not a convenient city. It's so pretty, though, but I was raised in Tokyo, so it was hard to understand.

When I read Deborah Brenner's book 'Women of the Vine' about women wine makers, I was impressed that many of the women she had interviewed had come to wine making later in life as a second career.

More than anything, I'm an American kid, and my music reflects that more so than being an Asian-American. I think it's important but also something that can detrimental to your career if celebrated too much.

The advice I give, no matter male or female, is not being afraid to step outside your comfort zone and think more long-term about your career than maybe the next year.

The kind of career that I want is not easy as a lady to manifest, because everyone wants a lady to be likable.