Growing up with Jennifer Lopez and Salma Hayek - people who were always trying to do something else - I wanted to follow in their footsteps. They gave people a different perspective of how women were supposed to look like and be.

I'm South American, and growing up in New York, I had the total stereotypical way of thinking of what Texas was about. I'm like, Texas. Big. Cows. Cowboys. Cowboy hats and cowboy boots. And barbeque.

When I'm hired just to be an actress, I don't have to worry about anything else but showing up on set, making sure I know my lines and making sure I know what I'm bringing to the character. When I'm a creator and executive producer, I have to worry about the whole thing.

It's definitely thrilling to know that you studied for something, and then you went in, and tried to do your best, and then somebody dug what you did.

The only wealth in this world is children, more than all the money, power on earth.

For me, success isn't even about money. It's about getting to do what you love and supporting yourself. Everything that comes after that is bonus, unless your only goal is to be rich. If that's your goal, you're going to find out that once you have a little bit, you want a lot. Then once you have a lot, you want a lot more.

If you live in a good neighborhood, you drive home and there's a bank. There's grocery stores and big houses - but no motels. What that tells you psychologically is you protect your money and buy good things for your family to eat in your nice big house.

It worries me about what happens if people in government are looking for that next job: 'Yeah I'm working now, not as much money as I could be making, but when I leave here, that's where I'm headed.' That ultimately infects whatever it is that they're doing.