I was just a kid and I didn't have a dad. That's hard because when you're a kid you blame yourself for everything. And I blamed myself for him not being around for my parents not being together.

Before I guess mum and dad were everything but now in my case I had two new girls and all of a sudden they're completely dependent on you and there's a third generation. It's a funny shift all of a sudden. You have the babies you have yourself and then you have your parents.

My dad had emphysema and both of my parents had chronic bronchitis and ended up with cancers - all smoking related.

My parents are very hard working people who did everything they could for their children. I have two brothers and they worked dog hard to give us an education and provide us with the most comfortable life possible. My dad provided for his family daily. So yes that is definitely in my DNA.

One day my dad would say 'OK if you want to play tennis I can help you out.' And that's how it started. And I had a goal. I wanted to beat my mom first. And my parents and my brother. And that was the ultimate goal.

My dad of course like a lot of Asian parents wanted me to be an engineer or doctor and never could understand why I would want to be a lawyer. And then when I first said I wanted to run for office he thought that was absolutely insane.

My parents were involved in everything I did. They were showbiz people themselves. My dad was an actor. They were parents they did what parents are supposed to do.

I'm sure there were times when I wish I had thought 'Gosh that might really embarrass mom and dad ' but our parents didn't raise us to think about them. They're very selfless and they wanted us to have as normal of a college life as possible. So really we didn't think of any repercussions.

I pop gum. My parents get so annoyed with me. I know my dad wishes he never taught me how to do that.

Parents don't understand kids and kids don't understand parents. My parents were divorced when I was really young and I went to live with my dad.

My parents moved to American Samoa when I was three or four years old. My dad was principal of a high school there. It was idyllic for a kid. I had a whole island for a backyard. I lived there until I was eight years old and we moved to Santa Barbara.

My dad? He died when I was 19 which is a bad time for your dad to die because there's an awful lot of things you have to resolve with your parents past your teens if you've been a difficult teenager.

OK so my parents were married in 1955 and my mom knew my dad was gay and my dad knew he was gay and so I was like 'Why in the heck did you get married?' Like what was going on? What was that time? It's like this crazy paradox that my whole life is based on or my family's based on. So I spent a lot of time trying to understand '55.

We busted a lot of family secrets with this. But to make a long story short my parents relationship was built heavily on security issues for my Mom and when my Dad couldn't provide security the relationship unraveled.

My parents divorced when I was young but I was brought up in two really loving households. I didn't have a contentious relationship with my mom or dad.

I'm a military kid both parents in the military - Mom did 12 years Dad did 21 served in two wars. So discipline is something that was huge.

My dad was an absentee dad so it was always important to me that I was part of my daughter's life and she deserved two parents which is part of the rationale behind us staying married for 30 years.

In my case I was born to parents who were very young and I don't think they were entirely ready to have a child. My dad was going to college and working two or three jobs at the same time and my mum was working and going to school.

I had bohemian parents in Seattle in the last '60s living in a houseboat. My dad wrote science fiction novels and painted big murals and oil paintings.

My parents were kind of over protective people. Me and my sister had to play in the backyard all the time. They bought us bikes for Christmas but wouldn't let us ride in the street we had to ride in the backyard. Another Christmas my dad got me a basketball hoop and put it in the middle of the lawn! You can't dribble on grass.

You have to respect your parents. They are giving you an at-bat. If you're an entrepreneur and go into the family business you want to grow fast. Patience is important. But respect the other party... My dad and I pulled it off because we really respect each other.

I have one brother John an airline pilot who is seven years younger. He's adopted though we're still blood related - he's my cousin. My parents couldn't have any more children after me so when Dad's brother died they adopted John then just a baby.

I've never tried to find my real parents. I'm very grateful to my mum and dad for adopting me - they're completely incredible people. It was my dad who encouraged me to question everything to forge my own path to think to read. I always felt it was my right to question everything.

I was always embarrassed because my dad wore a suit and my mother wore flat pumps and a cozy jumper while my friends' parents were punks or hippies.