My mum raised me on 'On the Waterfront,' 'Gone with the Wind' and 'Rear Window.'
I was with my mum in the shops, a ladies boutique or something, and I was asked what I wanted to be when I grow up. I think you're supposed to say an ambulance man or a footballer or a soldier or something like that, and I told all my mother's friends that I wanted to be Minister for Health. She was mortified, needless to say.
And that's my honour, that's what my goal is, to always keep my mum's name ringing, because I know what sacrifices she went through for me.
Mum used to hide love letters from my boyfriends and put me down. Now I understand that she was a Polish immigrant forced to settle in Chicago. She was jealous of the freedom life gave me.
My dad worked all sorts of jobs when I was growing up and finally ended up as a surveyor; my mum delivers meals to old folk around where we live. We didn't have much money when I was growing up, but I had a very happy childhood.
I know North Korea is the most ridiculous country in the world, but for me, my mum, my brother, and my families and old memories are so important.
When I went to college, my mum was really sad, so she preserved my bedroom, like a weird time capsule.
I was already in a band, and the teachers called my mum in and said: 'Abbey's so clever, it's a total waste if she follows her dream'. But I never wanted to do a job I didn't love, and I'd always wanted to be a model or an actress or a singer.
I was away a lot on 'Countdown' when the children were young and I couldn't have done it without Mum's help. Because she was at home running all of that, I never had to worry about them.
Creativity runs across many categories in life, from the arts-and-crafts project a mum or dad does with their kids, to the bestselling author's manuscript, to the designs of the hairdresser, to the creations of the computer programming genius.
My commitment is to my kids and my mum and I'm having a whale of a time.
We were definitely not rich, but we were not poor. My mum always came home from work and did everything so that we ate well.
I got into hip hop from my uncle; he was always playing us Kool G Rap and Big Daddy Kane. He was a bad boy, and my mum was not really happy that I was hanging out with him.
Hairdressers call me dark blonde, but I think they're wrong. I feel far more naturally confident blonde. My mum's blonde, my sister's platinum blonde. I thought, 'When I grow up, that's what I'm going to look like.'
My mum is great for keeping hold of old classics - pieces of clothing that never age and never go out of fashion. She also says, 'Make sure you always smile - it makes everything look better!'
I hope I'm very similar to my mum because she is a fantastic mother. She was driven as well as being incredibly protective and caring, and I think that is important.
I don't want to achieve less than my mum and dad.
I do love a bit of fashion. I grew up around a lot of it as my mum and dad had clothing stores so my mum was always designing a lot, and I definitely had that as an influence.
My mum is the funniest and sweetest person I know; my sister's like my best friend, so it's great having them around.
My mum is totally crazy for fashion still.
My mum's parents were from Ireland, my dad's mum was American-Irish.
I loved being away from school. I didn't really fancy school that much when I was little; it wasn't until I was in third or fourth grade that I really settled down at school and I was much happier at home with my mum and she was very creative and sort of fostered all my interests.
As a working mum, it's really hard to find time in the day to just relax and take a break. I am constantly on the go.
I was lucky, I had support from Mum and Dad - they said as long as you work hard, anything is possible. I never thought past those two things - that I liked living in imaginary worlds and that it is possible to do that for a living.
I remember in 'Pride and Prejudice' I had to do a scene where I broke down. And before we filmed I spent like three hours imagining my mum's funeral. Actually, she's very much alive, happy and healthy. It was really horrible.
Eliza was my first name for two reasons. My dad was reading 'Uncle Tom's Cabin,' which features the maid Eliza in it, when I was born. Then there was Eliza Doolittle from 'My Fair Lady' and 'Pygmalion.' My mum always loved the name, and I got called Eliza Doolittle a lot, so it stuck, basically.
Men and women have different ideas of what constitutes tidiness. I tend to think it's about things being clean, but my mum and girlfriend are more about how things look.
You can't go back to work unless you have a great support network, whatever that is. My mum and dad, sister, and husband are great.
Publishing a novel was such a proud thing for me. When I was a kid, I used to say to my mum and dad, 'I'm going to write a book. You'll see.' So when I did ,and it was published, and people liked it, it was great.
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.
The old man sold beer after hours on weekends. And that was something that he probably did to top up his earnings as a truck driver. Mum was the traditional housewife. Loving, caring, sharing - always the keynotes of the family.
My first-ever concert was the Barney concert when I was, like, six. My mum took me because I was obsessed with Barney. Barney was actually my first crush... He's, like, literally better than all the guys in the whole world.
I really thought I couldn't be a mum. We had tried several times with IVF,, and it hadn't worked and we'd given up in a way. We both thought, 'You know what, that's that. It's not going to happen - let's move on.'
The divorce is a regret of mine and my mum thinks that we should have stayed together. He's now remarried so there's no chance of us getting back together.
I don't know if I'm a tortured soul, but I was born heartbroken. I remember feeling it when I was so young. I was like, 'Mum, it hurts.'
I want to make my mum's life and my life safe.
