My Lifestyle
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"It's a glamorous job in some ways. You get to travel all over the world.
I've also ended up with the most amazing wardrobe because I was allowed
to keep lots of Clarissa's clothes. On the other hand, when you're
backstage with curlers in your hair, frantically learning your lines, you
don't feel very glamorous!"
Acting Up
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"It's hard work. A lot of people look down on acting. They think it's all
pretend - almost like playing. What they don't realise is that becoming
someone you are not is really difficult to do. It's not hard physical
work but it is hard emotional work. You also have to go to a lot of
auditions and a lot of the time you get rejected. Your self-confidence
can take a battering!"
Working Girl
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"It's been hard fitting school in around an acting career. When I was
doing Clarissa I was working a 60-hour week - with schoolwork on top!
The show became my whole life and the cast was like a second family. I
didn't go to high school like other kids. The way I see it, Clarissa
was my high school!"
Role Models
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"I've always admired 1930's child star Shirley Temple. She was an
actress when she was a little girl and she could do everything: sing,
tap dance, act - the whole lot. Then when she got older people started
picking on her, saying she wasn't as cute as she used to be. Well of
course not - she was a lot older! She went on to be American ambassador
to Czechoslovakia. I think that's pretty cool."
Blonde Ambition
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"I hope I'll be able to jump the gap from being a child star to an
adult actress. It does worry me. If I can't be an actress then I'd like
to become a doctor. That's why I admire Shirley Temple so much, because
she went on to be a success in something else. I have a collection of
Shirley Temple memorabilia - I've even got a Shirley Temple fridge
magnet!"
Melissa / Clarissa
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"Lots of people call me Clarissa. Fans of the show just come up and hug
me as if they know me. I've got used to it now. I put a lot of myself
into her - she's like an exaggerated form of me and I think of her as
a best friend. But there are big differences, too. She's into computers
and I'm not. The way she dresses is a bit too eccentric for me. And
she's so energetic, it's very draining and exhausting being Clarissa -
I'm glad I'm Melissa!"
Melissa's Musts
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Dessert : chocolate ice cream
Way to spend 5 pounds (8 dollars) : a trip to the cinema ("could I have
some more money for popcorn?")
Cartoon character : Tweety
Holiday destination : Utah in the USA ("so I could go snowboarding in the
mountains")
Animal : seahorse ("just to be different")
Color : Green