I knew I wanted to be an actress when I was 9 years old.

Before I was going to be an actress, I was going to be a veterinarian! I thought I was one as a child. I was the kid who was like, 'Daddy! I want a kitty! It needs a mommy!' And my dad was such a sucker. Every time I would beg, with tears flying down my face, about how this animal needs love, needs a home. He would cave.

I know imitation is the highest form of flattery, but stealing one's identity is totally different.

It takes a lot to scare me.

Honestly, after about three years on a show, you're like, 'Thank you very much for giving me a step up. Now can I go do movies?'

I always wanted to be an actress. I couldn't imagine being anything else.

A good two years after Hurricane Katrina I remember feeling so devastated and so ignorant that there was so much damage still left. I felt like here I was an American and this is an American city and the government hasn't done enough and people haven't given back enough. Everyone forgot and the city was lying in waste.

When I first moved to L.A., I didn't have a lot of money to join a gym or take classes, so I improvised. My sister and I went to the library and looked over their DVD collection and discovered Neena and Veena, these Egyptian twins who have a whole series of belly dancing routines. We did them all.

I was always the girl who wore the mismatching socks, frizzy hair, ponytail I wouldn't take out for a week, and cutoff jean shorts that were at my knees.

I need a guy who's confident and is secure in himself, because we're always apart.

You can make or break an outfit by not knowing your body type - certain things work on certain people. Make sure you're dressing for your leg-length, hip/chest size, etc.

It's so important that people get tested and find out what they're allergic to, because they might be struggling with their weight or health issues and not realize that they're actually just allergic to the food they're eating.

'Dial Star' is about an aspiring actress who finds the cell phone of AnnaLynne McCord and impersonates her.

All of my friends are animal people. To me, cats are people, too. Animals are people, too. I travel a lot and when I go overseas, it's really hard on me because the animals are treated much differently, especially in developing countries.

We look at a person and see the person we want to see. I've had to deal with that my whole life, walking in a room and girls thinking I'm going to steal their boyfriends!

I grew up with not a lot of money and I definitely shopped at Goodwill. But even in my most unfortunate state, I was really blessed compared to a lot of the rest of the world. I had a really great chance to follow my dreams and have them actually come true.