When I was 13 years old, my mom had me start getting facials in my hometown of Los Angeles.

With fame comes opportunity, but in my opinion, it also includes responsibility - to advocate and share, to focus less on glass slippers and more on pushing through glass ceilings and, if I'm lucky enough, then to inspire.

I never want to lose touch with reality. I won't push $100 candles just because. I realized that I could create a hub of positivity and affirmation.

Reflecting on where I came from helps me to appreciate and balance what I have now.

I used to be a calligrapher for weddings and events - that was my side job while I was auditioning. I think handwritten notes are a lost art form. When I booked my first pilot, my dad wrote me a letter that I still have. The idea of someone taking the time to put pen to paper is really special.

I am a California girl, born and raised, so flip-flops and cutoff shorts are my go-to look. An easy Angeleno uniform, so to speak. But for my role on 'Suits,' I'm dressed in Alexander McQueen, Tom Ford, and Prada almost every day. And therein lies the difference. For work, I wear art; in real life, I wear clothes.

You have to take care of yourself so you can manage the workload of a very, very full plate.

Throwing on a black dress with black tights, cute booties, a great coat and throw a scarf over it. I think simple accessories and, if you want to make a pop, a great red lip.

Catty is not cool. I can't think of anything less becoming than a man who talks about people behind their backs.

My mom is a yoga instructor: 100% black with dreadlocks.

Mom cooked a lot of turkey when I was growing up. Turkey meatloaf, turkey burgers, ground turkey shepherd's pie - my childhood was the Bubba Gump of turkey. You'd think I would be sick of it, but when I find gems like Gwyneth Paltrow's turkey meatball recipe, it's as though the fowl is no longer foul to me.

I do think there's some value to really throwing yourself into food and embracing where it comes from.

My mother was a free-spirited clinical therapist, and I had the most hard-working father, a television lighting director by trade. My mum raised me to be a global citizen, with eyes open to sometimes harsh realities.

I love Nars blush in Orgasm. I use it on and off camera because it gives you a nice glow from within. My favorite mascara is Diorshow Iconic, and then I love the Make Up For Ever HD Powder. It lets your skin look shiny and fresh, but not greasy-shiny.

I've had dates at the nicest restaurants, but when you leave, you're starving, and the best part of the date is having a slice of pizza and a couple of drinks on the way home. I think it's important to be able to roll with the punches and enjoy every minute of it.

On my face, I use Creme De La Mer The Eye Balm Intense and Tatcha Deep Brightening Serum.

The name 'The Tig' comes from a wine called tignanello, and the first time I had a sip of this wine, it was such an 'aha' moment. I finally understood what people were talking about when they spoke about the body, the legs or structure of wine.

What's funny is I probably still have some calligraphy business cards floating out in the world, and I can't wait for someone to call me in a month or something, and say, 'Can you do these for my son's Bar Mitzvah?'

My very first audition was for 'Hot Girl #1' in some movie.

Being 'ethnically ambiguous', as I was pegged in the industry, meant I could audition for virtually any role. Morphing from Latina when I was dressed in red, to African American when in mustard yellow, my closet filled with fashionable frocks to make me look as racially varied as an Eighties Benetton poster.

When I was 13 years old, my mom had me start getting facials in my hometown of Los Angeles.

Make a choice: continue living your life feeling muddled in this abyss of self-misunderstanding, or you find your identity independent of it. You push for colour-blind casting; you draw your own box. You introduce yourself as who you are, not what colour your parents happen to be.

Traveling gives you some perspective of what the rest of the world is like. I think that having the courage to step out of the norm is the most important thing.

At the end of the day, if the guy is going to write the girl a letter, whether it's chicken scratch or scribble or looks like a doctor's note, if he takes the time to put pen to paper and not type something, there's something so incredibly romantic and beautiful about that.

Be able to delegate, because there are some things that you just can't do by yourself.

For work, I wear art; in real life, I wear clothes.

At the start of each week, I generally cook a box of quinoa, and while it's simmering, I saute onions, garlic and any veggies I have on hand in a separate pan. I season the vegetables with Spike, a seasoning blend my mom always used when I was growing up, or a little Bragg Liquid Aminos. I always add crushed red pepper and chopped fresh herbs.

There is nothing like a hair flip!

My parents always told me if I believed something was wrong, I should try to fix it.

Every day after school for 10 years, I was on the set of 'Married... with Children,' which is a really funny and perverse place for a little girl in a Catholic school uniform to grow up.

While most become star struck by A-list actors, you'll only see me in awe of leaders effecting change. Politician and diplomat Madeleine Albright, U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. These are my heroes. These are my celebrities.