The wholesome is definitely intentional and drilled into me. I mean, we weren't allowed to pierce our ears growing up. We didn't wear makeup. We couldn't have layers in our hair, perms, or color, or manicures. My dad didn't think it was ladylike. My dad just felt like his daughters should be wholesome.

My parents came from a poor background and worked their way up because of education. They saw it as a way to succeed. So they cared about me getting straight A grades when I was growing up.

Growing up where I did, the thought of working on a television show or in a movie... that existed on a parallel plane, you know?

I'm still conflict-averse. I don't like to argue.

Of course, my sister and my dad, I respect as musicians and look up to them, but people kind of forget that they're my family, so my first reaction isn't always, 'Let me see what my dad and Miley think about this record.'

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.

Parents should have perfect control over their own spirits, and with mildness and yet firmness bend the will of the child until it shall expect nothing else but to yield to their wishes.

I want to make sure I'm climbing because there's no back-up. No one in my family has a house, and, regardless of your background, if someone has a house, that means you can always come back home. When you don't have that, it's like there isn't anywhere to stand, so you have to keep jumping.