My family influenced me very deeply because my dad came from a musical background, from the hillbilly music part of it, and all that music came over from Scotland and Ireland and England in to the Appalachian Mountains and Ozark Mountains, where I was raised.
My dad looked like Errol Flynn, and I think my mom thought she was moving into a hacienda, but they lived on a dirt street in Tijuana, a house jammed with relatives, nobody speaking English. She didn't know a word of Spanish. She grew up well and was appalled and humiliated, terrified of anyone ethnic.
What I do now is all my dad's fault, because he bought me a guitar as a boy, for no apparent reason.
Dad was a baker, and we lived above the bakery, so I was always popping down to have an apple pie or a doughnut or a custard or gypsy tart: I had a very sweet tooth, and I think that that was what got me into doing what I do now.
I know when I was little, having my Thai mom, even I was weird about fish sauce and fish heads and clams. I kind of sided with my dad because he was a big American guy. So, we were very meat and potatoes, but I really wish I had grown up appreciating my mom's taste a bit more.
'The Apprentice' has been excellent for my dad. Before, there was always that kind of corporate, Napoleonic evilness to Donald Trump. Now people see him interacting with normal - barely normal - individuals, and it's like, 'Wait a second. He's a regular guy!'
I think my dad is the only Arabic descendent who is an unsuccessful businessman.
I was raised by a single dad. Dad's idea of hanging out with your kid or day care was give her $20 in quarters, drop her at the arcade, and tell her not to talk to strangers.
Maybe I didn't get new skates, but I got used skates. I made it to the national championships in used skates that were custom-made for another girl. I still have those skates. Underneath the arch, there was a name crossed out and my dad had 'Michelle Kwan' written in. Granted, they were a little big, but it worked.
My dad keeps referring to me playing the piano when he's trying to teach me something in archery.
My dad's a very sensitive man, but as the archetypal rebellious teenager, I didn't realise that.
Much more a skiing family than a hockey family, my dad wasn't a big fan of the arenas early in the morning on the weekends.
My earliest memories of music are probably my dad listening to a bunch of outlaw country, but also old R&B and Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin. But, you know, I had rock phases and liked more modern R&B acts. I've always listened to all kinds of music, and I like all kinds of music.
My dad's a Pentecostal minister, meaning that he's full of charisma. If he's telling a story about Noah's ark, you best know each tiger is going to be having their own little conversation and narrative.
In the '80s, before I was born, my dad played in the old Soviet Top League in our home country of Armenia. He was a small but very quick striker. 'Soviet Soldier' magazine actually honoured him with its 'Knight of Attack' award in 1984.
And my dad wanted me to play the trumpet because that's what he liked. His idol was Louis Armstrong. My dad thought my teeth came together in a way that was perfect for playing the trumpet.
I was selling stuff probably since I could remember, like 6 or 7 years old. I was always out there helping my mom and dad sell watches, glasses, CDs, DVDs, stuff like that. Whatever we could put our hands on. I did it until I was around 17. But I was just doing it because I had to. There was no other option.
Dad was an outstanding leader. He'd bring in top thinkers from a wide array of fields - how to fix the Detroit schools, for example. I watched him in these meetings. He listened and probed.
My mom used to get arrested for being with my dad. She would get fined. She would spend weekends in jail.
My dad was a very straight arrow, prayed-at-every-meal kind of guy.