We moved to South Central Iowa to the farm where my dad had grown up, where my grandfather had grown up. The house was actually, it was a tiny little house. It was about 600 square feet and it was built by my great-grandfather. And that’s the house I spent time in as a child.
As a teenager, I developed a great interest in not only horse breeding but also horse racing and used to bet based on red-hot tips. I realized that becoming a bookmaker would be very lucrative, but Dad put his foot down, saying it was an inappropriate career.
My father’s father died when he was a teenager, and dad went to work to support his mother and two siblings as a carpenter and as a builder’s mule, hauling carts of lumber to construction sites when it was too icy for the mules to climb the hills.
The center stone on my ring is the diamond from my mom’s original engagement ring. My parents have been married 25 years! My dad bought her a new ring a while back, so she kept her original diamond to pass down to me or my sister someday. It is so special having an heirloom ring because I will get to pass it down one day, too.
All my life, men have told me I wasn’t pretty enough – even the men I was dating. And I’d be like, ‘Well, why are you with me, then?’ It’s always been men putting me down just like my dad. To this day when someone says I’m cute, I can’t see it. I don’t see it no matter what anybody says.
I loved when my dad was home. He liked to sit in the living room and watch boxing and baseball on TV. Or he’d be tinkering around or listening to records by his musician buddies – George Shearing, Oscar Peterson and the Jackie Gleason Orchestra.
The first thing that pops into my mind when it comes to playing cowboys is my father, Lloyd Bridges. When I was a little kid, I loved to dress up like a cowboy – put on the boots, hat, and walk around. He was in a lot of westerns, and my dad loved to ride.
My dad got into this group, Commission, with Fred Hammond, and that was my biggest gospel memory. I would hear that all the time, and listening to their voices helped me develop my voice because I would try to emulate them as a kid. It taught me tone, and it gave me a balance.
I got stuck on the Peter Pan ride when I was nine years old with my dad at Disney World. We got stuck on that part of the ride when you’re suspended in the pirate ship above the miniature London, and I was fascinated by the why of it all. ‘Why is Peter Peter Pan, why is he in Neverland, how did he learn how to fly, etc.?’
I was with All Pro Dad, and I was coaching. People recognized me as a coach. They might see my face and say, ‘What’s going on there, is that something with the Colts or the Buccaneers?’ Then they realize, ‘This is something with my kids; let me explore.’ So I think that helped, that name recognition.
I find it interesting where grunge originated from and then where it was taken, which was high fashion. My dad was so poor that they kept going to Goodwill to get donated ripped jeans. It wasn’t a fashion decision; it was an ‘I don’t have any money, I have no other choice’ type of decision.
These things were happening in my life where I was like, ‘Man, I wish my pops was here to see this.’ I never had those thoughts before fame, when my life was just a regular life. I wasn’t saying, ‘I wish my dad could be around and see me working at Applebee’s.’
My Dad, a small-town lawyer, was also named Paul. Until we lost him when I was 16, he was a gentle presence in my life. I like to think he’d be proud of me and my sister and brothers, because I’m sure proud of him and of where I come from, Janesville, Wisconsin.
I was living at home until about 27 and decided it was time to move out and move somewhere else, so that’s what I did. I wanted it to be the right thing to do. I didn’t want to buy something out of my price range; I didn’t want to be stupid with my money, so I decided to stay at home. Luckily, my mum and dad were amazing.
I grew up thinking that it’s okay to be sad, angry, and express your emotions. I have also banged doors and fought, as I have seen my mom do that when she would fight with my dad. Everything that I’ve learnt is from them, so I’ve never struggled to express myself.
If I didn’t already sense that I was different, I certainly was reminded, whether by my parents or by the other school kids. Not just reminded. Told… I was made to believe it wasn’t right. If I went a little bit too off – slap! It was Dad’s upbringing and it was Victorian, and that’s the way he was.
If you haven’t heard my story, my mom is full Korean, and my dad is Caucasian. Kids in kindergarten would make fun of me for being Asian, and when you’re that age, you don’t know really how to process that; the way you take that is, ‘Who I am isn’t good enough.’
I remember debating the finer points of flaky pastry with my chicken-pot-pie-obsessed American dad. I remember the divine mix of Thai food, TV dinners, and hearty, homemade goodness that have shaped this palate of mine to this day. I remember all this, but I still Google my husband’s birthday. Thank God he’s famous.
Mum and Dad had waited 16 years for adoption laws to change in their home state, Tasmania, so that they could apply to the authorities to create the family of their dreams. I am so thankful for their endurance and patience. Who knows what would have happened to me if they hadn’t miraculously appeared when I needed them most?
There’s certain things that I was taught growing up about not quitting and seeing things through. I think if I would have come home and told my dad that I was going to quit the team, I think he would have kicked me out of the house. I don’t think I’d have a place to stay.
My dad was very explosive, God rest his soul. He could fly off the handle like no one I’ve ever known, and I have definitely got that in my personality: that ability to sort of smash the house up and then say, ‘Put the kettle on,’ to have that kind of attitude of, ‘Well, I’m OK now, so everybody else has got to be OK.’
Both of my parents are actors and directors and whatnot. My dad loves really solid, old school, Broadway musicals, and one of them is ‘Assassins’ by Stephen Sondheim. All of the successful or non-successful assassins that have ever existed in the United States come together, and they talk about their killing or attempts through songs.
There’s a lot of wisdom that my dad and my grandparents and my uncle have been able to impart on me, and what I’ve treasured the most is I’ve seen examples in my life of people embracing their creativity, not feeling insecure about their artistic inclinations.
We all started snowboarding in the beginning as a family just to be closer together, go on trips. It was our soccer, but instead of Dad yelling at me from the sideline he is there riding with me and hitting the jumps even before I am hitting them.
As a child my life felt like an adventure, because my dad is such a fun guy. I had a brother and sister who were in and out of hospital a lot – one had a congenital heart problem and the other had a cleft palate. But my parents never stopped smiling.
