I'm the youngest of four in a large, exhibitionist family. The only way to get attention was to throw yourself off the top of a ladder - as one of my cousins used to do - or make people laugh.
Only solitary men know the full joys of friendship. Others have their family; but to a solitary and an exile, his friends are everything.
I am the face of a refugee. I was once a refugee. I was with my family in exile.
I have no interest in becoming a tax exile and living somewhere I don't want to - I just want to be at home with my family.
I'm a proper Essex girl because my family was part of that great exodus from the East End.
Outside of my family, I was always inspired by true heroic stories of leadership and survival. For example, the story of the Shackleton expedition, when their ship became lodged in the Antarctic ice pack while exploring.
While security of national leadership is of paramount significance, expenditure on permanent civil structures at the family home of the prime minister and chief minister from public exchequer will be a burden on their conscience.
I tell my children now that they are older, 'If something happens to me... don't make no big fuss over me. Don't make no big expense on my funeral. Don't put any pressure on the rest of the family. I've loved everybody, and I hope they loved me. But don't create this big expense for the family.'
I've always saved. I believe in keeping money back for a rainy day and living within my means. I don't buy expensive clothes; I have a 10-year-old car I'm hoping to replace when a big job comes in. I suppose when we do go on family holidays, I am quite happy to spend when we are there.
My family kinda hit the skids. We were experiencing poverty at that point. We all got a job, where the whole family had to work as security guards and janitors. And I just got angry.
I had a very supportive family environment that gave me room to explore and discover things about myself.
Dr. Evil got shortchanged in the first one. The family dynamic between Scott and Dr. Evil - the adventures of being an evil single parent - needed to be explored.
Movies like that aren't about the visual effects and explosions. They're human stories about family, about life, about death.
My dad's family were political and he was always a theatrical creature, whereas my mum is really musical and her father was the touring pianist with Nat King Cole. My family was an explosive mixture of politics, religion and music - no wonder I turned out how I did.
We'll be going to the fish market and a farmer's market this afternoon to get what we need to make and eat dinner as a family. I'm trying to expose my kids to going to a farmers market or the fish market and learning what that's all about.
If I was to have a reality show, it wouldn't be a show based on my personal life. I'd want it to showcase me and my girls on tour, like living life as a young artist, not exposing what goes on in my family situations.
If you're a member of my family, whether immediate or extended, and you want to see my show, don't.
I come from a big extended family, so it's very normal to be around babies for us, but when it's your own, it's a very different experience for us.
Obviously, you would give your life for your children, or give them the last biscuit on the plate. But to me, the trick in life is to take that sense of generosity between kin, make it apply to the extended family and to your neighbour, your village and beyond.
You don't have to give birth to someone to have a family. We're all family - an extended family.
